The Unfortunate Son of a Lunatic
by I Swear I'm Not A Werewolf
Summary: Rose Granger-Weasley is excitedly anticipating her first year at Hogwarts, but her year is disturbed when she becomes all too closely involved with the unfortunate son of a lunatic. She and her three friends, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter, and Maddox Everard, are tangled in a mess of ransom, betrayal, and kidnap, and are forced to choose literally who lives from who dies.
1. Trip Between 9 and 10

**I** t had taken eleven years, eleven very long years, but the waiting was almost over. Rose Weasley, a pretty, red haired, freckly girl, the niece of the famous Harry Potter, laid in bed that night wide awake in the dark, tapping her finger against her wrist, thinking.

Her Uncle Harry was a very kind man very humble despite his involuntary fame. For he was known throughout the Wizarding world, as a hero.

Yes, Rose was a witch who lived in a family all blessed with magic. But the community of magical people, were forced to hide their powers from the outside world in fear of prosecution.

Thirty-six years ago there was a wizard, a very evil, very dark wizard who had attempted becoming all powerful and overthrowing the Ministry of Magic, (The magical government.) His name was Voldemort.

But his reign of terror, of killing was seemingly over when he had attempted to kill a baby that was prophesied to one day destroy him; this baby was Harry. Harry's parents were killed in the attack of Godrics Hollow, Halloween night, 1981. But due to the power of a mother's love, and the sacrifice of her own life, baby Harry survived the killing curse which rebounded, destroying Voldemort instead. The entire wizarding world celebrated that night, and gave little Harry Potter the title of _'the boy who lived_ '.

That would had been an excellent end to the story, unfortunately, unlike everyone had thought, Voldemort had not _died_. He returned, more powerful and more terrible than ever before, thirteen years later. But again, through much pain, much sacrifice, yes, sacrifice, Harry again defeated Voldemort. This time, he did not do it alone, friends, mentors, teachers, and leaders stood by him. Two of these friends, of Harry's best friends, were named Ron and Hermione, and that is who Rose was, she was the daughter of Ron and Hermione. A witch and a wizard who had second handily defeated Voldemort. Both her mother and her father had worked at the Ministry of Magic after that, both with high positions. Presently, her mother works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and her father worked as an Auror, a dark wizard catcher, before quitting to help his brother run a popular joke shop.

In ten hours' time, Rose would be leaving to go to school. This was very exciting because the school was known to be the best school in Britain, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At this school was where Voldemort had been finally vanquished, during the Battle of Hogwarts, this was one of the reasons the school was so famous.

Rose was attending Hogwarts as a first year tomorrow. All of her family attended the school and were nearly all sorted into Gryffindor house. Hogwarts had four houses in which the students were separated, these houses were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. During first year, the students were sorted into one of these four houses where they would spend the next six years of their life. This would be scary for Rose in case she wasn't sorted into Gryffindor house and would be separated from all her cousins who were already at Hogwarts. But strangely enough, she wasn't scared. She had this sort of piece about the whole thing and really felt that everything would go right for her. But there was this heavy feeling on her stomach that she couldn't quite explain. She felt sick about the sorting but wasn't scared of her own, what was that stomach feeling for then?

Rose had already visited Diagon Ally, a wizarding market square, and bought her books, uniform, a plethora of other things she needed for school, but most importantly, she bought her magic wand. Her wand was made of ash wood, had a unicorn tale hair as its core, and measured 10 ½ inches in length. This was the item that she was most excited about owning. She was warned by her mother not to do any magic with it before school because if the spell worked, she could get into trouble by the Ministry for underage magic.

Of course she had done magic before without a wand, but couldn't control what she did. One time in particular, she had turned her cousin James', Harry's son, hair a bright pink because he was picking fun at her red hair. He still made fun of her sometimes, but now called her 'red' rather than 'carrot'.

Though she respected her mom, she had tried to do magic with her wand anyway. When she was at the Potter's house with Albus, the other son of Harry who she has a closer relationship with. She had dared to emit sparks from the end, but hadn't tried a more powerful spell because her Aunt Ginny had come in.

She and her brother Hugo, visited their cousins quite often, most often the Potters who they ate lunch with at least twice a week.

Rose had slept with her wand next to her since the day they bought it, and cleaned it at least twice a day though it couldn't get any shinier. Her trunk of books clothes, telescope, cauldron, writing material and many other things she needed for Hogwarts classes, was sitting at the foot of her bed locked and ready to go. She had laid out her school uniform over the bottom of the bed for when she had to wear it tomorrow on the train. The students at Hogwarts had to take a train to get there every year, the Hogwarts Express.

Rose tossed and turned now but couldn't get to sleep. Was it excitement? There was this buzzing in her ears and she threw her head under her pillow to block it out. Was this buzzing normal when you were greatly anticipating something? She started to get a headache and finally sat up from bed irritably to peer around the dark room. Her eyes scanned over her desk in the corner where she'd study, over a large pile of assorted stuffed animals, and over a smaller stack of half read books some of which were entitled, _So You Wanna Be the Best? 101 Easy and Impressive Spells to Stun Your Friends, Magic for Morons,_ and _How to Cope._

Then she remembered – _the hand mirror_ _._ Her Uncle Harry had given both Rose and Al two identical magic hand mirrors last Christmas. They worked similarly to muggle video call, though Rose had never tried it. They'd buzz and become hot when one would try to get in touch with the other, when you would swipe your hand across the mirror's face, it would ripple and if answered right away, the other person's face would appear on the glass. She and her cousin were gifted these hand mirrors because her dad Ron, and Al's mom, Ginny – who happened to be siblings – were often complaining about how their delivery owls, wizard post, were never around when they needed them for something important because Rose and Al were always sending them out with letters to each other. The letters became so frequent that Harry had to figure out a solution for them to communicate without always using the delivery owls. So he bought two ordinary hand mirrors, used spells to make them two-way, and gifted them to Al and Rose. It had been a lot easier and faster to talk.

But right now Rose was frantically groping around in the dark trying to remember where she had put hers. She lit the candle on the bedside table in a hurry to find it because it had been buzzing for a little while now. As soon as the tiny flame illuminated around two square feet of the room, Rose saw it. It was sitting on her bedside cabinet right beside the candle and she had placed the matches right on top of the glass. Hastily, she grabbed the silver handle and swiped her hand across the screen to answer.

Al's face rippled into focus illuminated by what looked like one candle also. Al was her age and greatly resembled his dad. He had black, slightly messy hair, and bright green eyes. His face, which was usually bright and friendly, now looked solemn and full of worry, it brightened slightly in sight of her.

"Hey, Rosie." he said.

"Al, its one in the morning." Rose stated the obvious.

"Like you were really asleep." he replied knowing her too well.

"What's wrong?" she asked, though she already knew.

"I'm going to be put in Slytherin, I know it!" he said, quickly.

Slytherin was the house at Hogwarts that had produced more dark wizards than any other and had a very bad reputation.

"Al." said Rose warily.

"I know I've said it before, but I'm sure of it, I have this terrible feeling Rosie, I really do."

This wasn't the first time Al had brought this up. It was an evident fear of his. She had tried and tried to assure him that the sorting does not matter that much, that Slytherin wasn't all bad and has changed since the end of Voldemort and that whatever house he was in would not matter in the slightest to her or to the rest of the family who would all still see him the way he is. Nothing that she said ever seemed to cheer him up though, she knew that what he really wanted was for her to tell him that he was for sure going to be in Gryffindor like his brother, but she of course wouldn't do that. Rose had no doubt that he _would_ be placed in Gryffindor house, but wasn't going to predict something that was not set in stone, at least not something as important as this.

"Aren't are you afraid, Rose?" Al asked.

"No, I'm not." She replied truthfully. "I am confident on which house I will be put in and am also comfortable with wherever I am placed. There are certain aspects about each Hogwarts house that I like."

"Not even a bit nervous?" He asked as if he wanted her to be, so that he wasn't the only one.

"No, I thought I would be but I'm only excited." She said.

There was a silence, so Rose spoke.

"Al, you need to stop worrying about the sorting."

"But what if I am put in Slytherin?" He asked desperately.

"So what? You need to be placed wherever you'd do best."

"So if they put me in Slytherin that would mean that I'd do best being evil?"

"Al, you're being ridiculous, not all Slytherins are bad you know, you're named after one." She replied.

"Rosie, you need to help me." He croaked.

"How can I help?" She asked.

"I don't know!" Al started to become frantic and his voice became higher like it always did when he was scared. "You always have the answer. You're not about to say that _you don't know_."

"Albus, lower your voice I don't want us to get restricted again. And I _don't_ know." The words tasted bad in her mouth, she hated not knowing. "Everything the sorting hat will judge is all in your head, I can't change what's in your head." There was another pause. "Al, no matter what happens I'll be right by your side. Even if you are in Slytherin, I know you, and I know you're not bad; you're not a bad person Al." She finished. Still more silence. "Have you talked to Harry about it?"

"No." He answered quietly.

"Are you going to?" She asked.

"I'm thinking about doing it tomorrow."

"I don't know why you're so worried about asking him," Said Rose. "he is your dad."

"I don't want him to think that I am weak." He replied hurriedly.

"Al," said Rose quietly. "He's your dad, he's not going to think you were weak, and being afraid doesn't make you weak either. Besides your parents are supposed to mentor you, to help you through these things not judge you for them." She finished.

"Thanks, Rosie." He said, but she could tell that what she had said hadn't done much to calm his anxiety. She sighed.

"Alright Al, you should go to sleep, and I mean actually go to sleep, don't lie awake in bed all hours of the night thinking. You'll fall asleep on the Hogwarts express and I won't have anyone to talk to."

"You'll have James." Said Albus.

"James?" She laughed. "What a great conversationalist he is, doing all the talking more like, won't let me get a word in."

Al laughed, "That's what he says about you. Goodnight." And the hand mirror went blank; not like you could see much through it anyway.

Rose laid down her matted red haired head onto her pillow and fell almost instantly to sleep. Though her slumber was disturbed when she awoke with a start later in the night. She had dreamed that she was falling from a great height and woke right before she hit the ground. She looked at her digital watch that her grandfather had given her and saw that she had been asleep for three minutes. She laid back on her pillow in exasperation. Then she sat bolt upright and remembered what she had forgotten to pack.

" _My travel bag!"_ She whispered. She swung the covers off and relight her bedside candle that she had blown out three minutes ago. _"Let's see.'"_

She always packed a travel bag of random stuff to keep her occupied in case she got bored on a trip. She had forgotten it one time and had to travel all the way to Wales in a muggle (non-magic folk) car with nothing to do but listen to James talk and pick on his little brother Albus. She searched the room and – though she could not draw well – took a sketch book and a few pens from under her desk and placed in into a satchel. She grabbed a book of short stories, a bouncy orb that changed glowing colors to play with when it gets dark, a sneakoscope, a small flying model broomstick (she loved Quidditch, a wizard sport played on broomsticks.) She also packed a book called _Quidditch Through the Ages_ , and one called _Flying with the Cannons_ that her dad had given her but she had never read. She stepped back looking around the room to make sure she hadn't missed anything, and got back into bed. It was a long while before she had fallen asleep again, she could hardly suppress her excitement now; it was something like trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve.

She awoke the next morning to her mother's voice. Hermione had poked her head inside and was calling her in a frantic whisper.

"Rosie? Oh Rose wake up; we only have two hours until we have to leave. Oh I accidentally slept in, come on downstairs after you get dressed sweetheart."

It was just like her mom to wake her up two hours before, it was like her dad to wake her up two minutes after because he had slept in too.

Rose stepped out of bed clumsily and almost tripped. She took her Hogwarts robes from the end of her bed post and pulled on her socks, skirt, white shirt, grey vest, black tie, and black robe. She took a small Hogwarts pin from her bedside drawer, and pinned it to her tie. She knew that she would get looks heading to platform 9¾ but she was too excited to wait.

They were taking the muggle entrance into the station, King's Cross, and usually had to dress in muggle clothes, otherwise people would look at them oddly. Rose stood in front of her mirror and gave a quick twirl in her robes. She loved it. It would look better when she had the Gryffindor crest on the left breast though. She had a sudden jolt such of excitement looking at her uniform that she did a silly little jig. She laughed because she was being ridiculous and stood up straight again, took a deep breath, and hurried down the stairs. She got the bottom and had to run back up because she had forgotten her shoes and travel case.

She found her father sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with more cream and sugar in it than actual coffee. Their home was quite, quaint, and small. They could afford a larger house, of course, with both parents having stable jobs, but only being a family of four, they found that a smaller house would feel quite comfortable. Ron disagreed with Hermione on this theory though, he had grown up in a large family with no money and was always very cramped. Hermione was stern though, she had to be, otherwise Ron would get what he wanted in a power parachute, or a mansion, to reconstruct their yard to be a Quidditch field, or to buy out the neighbor's property and kick them out. They lived in an almost all wizard neighborhood. But a muggle family with four children somehow wormed their way into the house next door. Hermione was pretty sure that they had inherited it from a squib relative who had passed away long ago. A squib was a muggle born to magic parents but had no magic themselves. The neighborhood assumed that the squib hadn't ever told anyone that he or she was born to magic family; squibs are usually ashamed of that matter. The neighbors were always having to put memory charms on this poor family because they or their child had been immature in letting magic slip. Ron had to put a charm on the backyard so that if the muggle family looked up while the Weasley's were flying on brooms, they would only see two overly large birds. But Rose's house was big enough to be comfortable, small enough for a family of four, and was in a very good location with a large yard and trees surrounding the area, blocking them from most view. A garden was in the backyard and flowers were planted along the side of the house. A neat metal fence lined their property and two willow trees grew beside it.

Rose sat next to her father and her mom set a plate with an omelet in front of her. It smelled good, she could remember when she was younger and her mom was a dreadful cook so her father had to do most of it, though not being great himself. Ron insisted on ordering food all of the time, but her mom, being so determined, had refused and remade meals every night. Burnt bread and dry, chewy ham was the best dinner she could make. One of the reasons they ate at the Potters so often.

"So Rosie," said Ron. "You gonna try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year?"

"Of course I'm gonna try-"

"Swallow Rose." Reminded her mom.

She swallowed. "Yeah I'm gonna try out, but I'm kind of nervous about it." she confessed accidentally. "I mean," she tried. "first years rarely make the house teams. A lot more than they used too sure, but still not often. James even waited till second year to try out and he is obsessed with Quidditch to a point it's scary."

"You shouldn't be nervous." He said. "You're one of the best players your age I've seen, better than James I think, but don't ever mention that to 'em. Not enough practice? Tell you what, I'll finish this," he raised the Daily Prophet he had been reading. "-and we'll can go outside and practice."

"Ron!" Said his wife suddenly, "It rained last night, it's all muddy and she's in her new uniform." Ron looked back at his daughter.

"Hold on." Rose said and she ran back upstairs. She stormed into her room and ripped off her shoes, socks and cloak, and slipped a pair of overly large rain boots that didn't fit her bare feet, and ran back down stairs.

"How's this?" She asked and she gave a twirl that made the rubber boots squeak. He looked at her boots and skirt, and laughed. Hermione was looking at her white blouse.

"Alright, come on." He said putting a piece of toast in his mouth and walked outside with his daughter. Rose could hear her mom give a half amused half exasperated snort.

They headed to the greenhouse and she grabbed her Nimbus 2001, it was a pretty old model but she saw no reason to ask for a new one, it still worked fine. Her father grabbed his old Firebolt and they walked to the backyard.

"So what position do you want to play?" He asked while checking for rain with the palm of his hand.

"Beater!" She replied.

"Are you sure you don't want to be keeper, that's a good one." He suggested, keeper being what he played during his years on the Gryffindor Quidditch team at Hogwarts.

"Nah, I wanna be a beater." She said while yanking her foot from the squelching mud.

"Alright, well I don't think that we should get the bludgers out today, I don't want you taking a chance of going to your first day of school with a broken nose. How 'bout chaser?" He suggested.

Quidditch was a wizard sport played on broomsticks. There were four balls, seven players on a team, and three goal post on either side of the pitch. In the seven players, there were three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, and one seeker. The chasers would take the largest ball, the quaffle and try to get it through one of the other teams' goal hoops, the beaters would use clubs to hit the two bludgers away from their own team and at the opposing teams' players, bludgers were heavy balls whose job it was to hit as many players as they could of their broom, the keeper would guard their goal post and prevent the other team from scoring, and it was the seekers job to catch the last ball called the snitch. The snitch was a tiny golden ball that would zigzag around the pitch and was exceptionally tricky to catch. Once the snitch is caught, the game is over. Ten points to every goal scored and one-hundred-fifty points to the team that catches the snitch. Whichever team has the most points at the end of the games wins.

In about another ten minutes she had pulled her little brother, Hugo away from his omelet and got him to hover in front of one single goal post that her dad had mounted. And her mom took to watching them with a cup of tea from the balcony.

It was a good morning despite the grey weather. She and her dad passed the quaffle back and forth, and into the goal half the time, the other half, Hugo would block it. He had become very good, especially with him being so small. Again and again they passed, they scored, they missed, they laughed for what felt like almost an hour. Until they saw yellow fireworks from above and looked to the balcony where her mom was shouting,

"Fifteen minutes!" Frantically.

They all sped to the ground and ran inside the house splattering cold mud all over their own legs. Rose fell out of both her boots which remained stuck in the mud and had to drag her little brother who was having a lot of difficulty _. It had been over an hour and a half?_

" _Scourgify, scourgify, scourgify."_ Her mother said pointing her wand at each of their legs as they all trooped into the house.

Every last drop of mud vanished from their person. She ran back into her room, pulled on her socks, shoes and robe, and ran back downstairs. Her mom tied Rose's hair into knot on the back of her head. Her dad used a hovering charm to get her trunk into the car. He jumped into the driver's seat, made sure they were all accounted for, started the engine, and took off.

Ron was doing surprisingly good at driving, Rose thought. The only thing that struck her as odd, was how every time a muggle traffic light turned red, it would change instantly back too green as soon as the car got there. After the fourth time this happened Rose had finally noticed her father tapping his leg with his wand. Rose smiled and sat back. Then was almost immediately thrown forward as her dad slammed the break to avoid colliding with a bus.

"Seatbelt, Rosie." Hugo grinned smugly, adjusting his own.

"Don't be rude." Rose frowned, trying desperately to click her metal buckle together.

"You didn't let me eat breakfast." Said Hugo folding his arms.

They pulled up to the train station, lifted her trunk onto a trolley and wheeled it in.

This was a completely ordinary station. Platforms and trains, people hurrying about impatiently, dressed in suits and ties, hoodies and caps. All staring at them as they wheeled a trolley laden with boxes and at Rose skipping along in her robe.

"Oh Ron, we're going to be late." Her mom was saying.

Until finally they were facing platform nine and ten. Her mom and Hugo ran straight at the brick divider between the two numbers and vanished rather than colliding to the ground. She and her father did the same right after, coming closer and closer to the brick barrier until they were right on top of it, surly going to crash. But they didn't, because this was a magic divider that is used as the entrance to the wizard platform; platform 9 ¾.

Rose felt a whooshing sensation as they emerged on the other side and stopped next to her mom and Hugo. She noticed that her mom looked confused, which was very rare. Rose looked ahead and saw the scarlet steam engine puffing smoke. She smiled, so they weren't too late. But then she frowned to notice that they were the very few people waiting there. A father buying his kid a snack at a stand, a small group of wizard boys already dressed in their robes, looking fixedly at a pamphlet about how to fit in at school, and an aged man dozing on a very skinny man on a bench to the right. Last year when they had come to see James off for his first year, the station was packed and very busy. Rose looked down at her watch and her eyes widened, understanding now. She tapped her dad and showed him the time. He looked at his own as well and rolled his eyes.

"Hermione, dear," He said. "We're here 42 minutes early."

"What!" She said, "But that's impossible. I made sure." And she looked at her wrist to check the time of her silver watch. Ron put his own under her nose.

"What?" She said, "But... oh." Rose let out a strangled laugh.

So, with 42 minutes to spare, they took to walking across the platform to drop off Rose's trunk and see if there was anybody they knew to talk to. Ron bought them all a scone, mostly because Hugo was complaining about being hungry. Rose bought herself a pamphlet about how to start at Hogwarts, from a close stand. Her parents insisted that she didn't need it, both giving very different advice about how to fit in and make friends.

"Harry and Ginny won't be here for another half hour." Said her dad as Hugo finished his scone. "But we may see... oh no." He suddenly stopped.

"Ronald!" She heard someone say and immediately recognized the pompous tone of her Uncle Percy.

"Oh no." She said as well.

Percy was Ron's third older brother, and was under his brothers Bill and Charlie. He had curly red hair that was cut short to reveal a rather large forehead, and he wore horn-rim glasses.

Rose didn't dislike him, but he did bore she and Hugo and all her other cousins to sleep at family gatherings. Last Christmas he had sent both her and Hugo one thick book titled, _202 of the Most Respected International Confederation Wizards in History_ ; her mom was the only one who had read it.

"How wonderful to see all of you." Percy was saying. His daughters Molly and Lucy were there too.

"I'll help you with that." Said Molly looking at Rose's trunk. Molly was the eldest daughter and was starting her fourth year at Hogwarts. She had red curly hair that she had in a braid on the back of her head and had a slightly round face.

Lucy, who also had red hair and glasses, was too young to attend Hogwarts as well as Hugo, but Lucy followed him as he followed Rose.

"How long have you been here?" Rose asked.

"Just got here." Molly answered. "Dad insisted on getting here early. He says that it'll make his department look better, you know, The Department of Magical Transportation. But I think it's useless, nobody is going to see us here early and go, ' _Wow! Look how early they are. That Percy Weasley does run a tight ship in his Department_ _.'_ " Rose laughed. "But how are you?" Molly asked. "It is your first year."

"I'm ecstatic!" She replied. "Honestly, I'm not nervous at all." Though she wasn't being as honest as she had been with Al the night before.

"Good," Said Molly. "You don't have any reason to be nervous, the classes are work of course but everyone that has gone is always excited to go back which obviously means we like it there. Not worried about the sorting? Most people are."

"No," Rose replied hesitantly. The thing was, now that she was here, facing the train that was going to her to the first day of the rest of her life, she wasn't quite as confident. She was excited sure, but something about standing here on platform 9 ¾, in front of the train that'll bring her away from her parents farther and longer than she had ever been before, was quite nerve wracking. Though she still believed that she was going to be in Gryffindor, that sick feeling was still in the pit of her stomach which made her feel as though she was supposed to be more nervous. "I'm sure I'll be in Gryffindor." She told Molly anyway.

"Yeah, that's what I said." Said Molly. "And look where I am, Ravenclaw. But yeah you'll probably be in Gryffindor, most red heads are, mind you though most red heads are Weasley's."

Both Rose and Molly drug her trunk down the train corridor. It was very heavy and difficult to direct in a straight line. The train was lovely even despite the years. Rose finally chose a back compartment and they together hoisted the trunk in the loft above the seats.

"Al isn't so confident though." Said Rose as they walked back.

"What do you mean?" Asked Molly. Hugo and Lucy were still on the platform having an animated conversation about a muggle baseball cap that he had brought.

"Al has this silly idea that he'll be in Slytherin."

"It's not very silly." Said Molly.

"Well I know it's not 'ha-ha' funny, I just meant that he thinks he will be." Rose said slightly annoyed.

"Yeah well, if it was any of us, I kinda thought him."

"What?" Asked Rose stopping outside the train. "Al? He doesn't look Slytherin."

"Well he doesn't really look Gryffindor either, does he?" Rose didn't answer.

Molly continued, "He's smart but not Ravenclaw material, he might be in Hufflepuff, he's loyal enough. But nobody really _wants_ to be in Hufflepuff."

"I think he's brilliant." Rose said stubbornly.

"So are Slytherins." Said Molly, she was too opinionated like her father. "Anyway, see you on the train." she said and she walked back to Lucy.

Who did she think she was putting a stamp on Al's head before he's even sorted, that's just wrong, especially the stamp being a Slytherin one. Then she felt a guilty tug at her stomach. She had been trying to convince Al that Slytherin was no worse than any of the other houses but yet here she was angry at someone who had verbally sorted him into Slytherin. She wouldn't have been as upset if Molly had said that she could see him in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. And wasn't the word _Gryffindor_ stamped on her head by everyone else in the family?

When she looked back up, she saw that the platform was much fuller than it had been. A mixture of people in black cloaks and muggle clothes were traveling all around the platform carrying trunks and boxes, some with owl cages and other small pets. Some of the witches and wizards in muggle clothes looked quite comical and Rose suspected that they got more looks on the way here than the people in cloaks did. Some were wearing a top hat with a sweatshirt, others with night clothes and leather jackets.

"Fred!" Rose cried seeing her other cousin, and ran up to him. Her Uncle George (who had red hair) and Aunt Angelina (a pretty black girl) had two kids, Fred, who was in fifth year, and Roxanne, was in her third.

Fred had very tan skin and slightly red, very curly hair, as though the color couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Roxanne was younger and had really big curly hair and a pretty face, she usually had a handkerchief or other headband in her hair to tame it, and she always wore the same big hoop earrings and both children were very freckly.

She ran up and gave Fred a hug. He had been like her big brother but teased her a lot, he acted a lot like his father when he was in school. Both Fred and Roxanne looked more like their mom. Rose hardly got to see Fred anymore since they moved away. She was ecstatic to be spending a whole semester with him at Hogwarts. Both he and his sister were a quite the mischievous bunch, frequently getting into trouble.

"Just saw Percy." He was saying. "He was talking about our transportation here, just got away."

"Where's Roxie?" She asked.

"Still stuck." He smiled. "Ah George, my dear brother," Fred impersonated Percy, buttoning the top collar of his muggle shirt pompously (he hadn't yet changed into his Hogwarts one's.) "Oh how delighted you must be to see me, what a great honor this it for you, to be talking to the _Head_ of Magical Transportation, sorry – no pictures. You may kiss my shoe though," He held out his foot. "George has to do it, sorry Angelina but you'll get lipstick on it, they've just been polished." he was exaggerating of course as Rose laughed.

"You should probably save Roxanne now though." She said.

Fred walked back toward Percy and vanished into the steam that the engine was producing. Just as he left, she saw her parents emerging from the mist. Her mom had an expression of mild relief, her dad just looked furious.

"That git won't shut up." He said as they got nearer.

"Ron, don't say stuff like that in front of the kids." Said his wife.

"Oh calm down Hermione." He said. "They know Percy's a boring git, don't you, Rosie." But she didn't have to answer.

"I hear James!" Said Hugo excitedly. "Isn't that them, mom?" He asked.

"I can't tell."

"I hear Al!" said Rose.

"I think that's them Al," Said a detached voice that belonged to a woman.

"Yup," Said her dad. "That's Ginny."

And five figures appeared from the mist coming more and more into focus. Ginny was a very pretty woman with long red hair, Harry had messy black hair and round glasses, little Lily had red hair and greatly resembled Rose who was often mistaken as Lily's older sister, James was tall and had reddish brown hair, but no freckles. Al shared his dad's bright green eyes, same shape and color. He walked right up to Rose and smiled a smile of relief. She beamed back.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Still nervous." He replied.

"But you have talked to your dad about it?" She asked.

"No." He answered.

"Well than you better get to it then. Lily!" She walked to Al's little sister, who had a tear streaked face, she wasn't yet old enough to go to Hogwarts. "Lily, why are you crying?"

"I – want - to – go!" Lily replied through hiccups. "Hugo!" Lily suddenly exclaimed completely dropping her sobs and ran up to him. Rose was taken slightly aback by the sudden change in pace and not knowing why she was so excited to see him, he does come around their house nearly three times a week.

Lily and Hugo began to talk about Hogwarts and what house they'll be in when they one day go. Her dad stopped to listed.

"I like Ravenclaw, but Uncle Harry says that you have to answer a riddle to get in the common room and I don't want that." Hugo was saying to Lily. "You could be in Hufflepuff; I think you're pretty nice."

"If you're not in Gryffindor, We'll disinherit you," Said Ron suddenly. "but no pressure."

"Ron!" said her mom. Hugo and Lily laughed but Albus was looking solemn, Rose caught his eye and felt awkward too. Her mom and Aunt Ginny must have noticed because they said,

"He doesn't mean it."

Rose put a hand on Al's shoulder.

"Look who it is." Said her dad, and Rose looked up but didn't see who he was talking about.

"So that's little Scorpius." He said under his breath.

She caught sight of him. Around fifty yards away was a tall blonde man with a black coat buttoned to his chin and a pretty brunette woman hugging a boy Rose's age. The boy was tall with white blonde hair that was slick and greatly resembled the man. Those were the Malfoys. Her dad had told what felt like hundreds of stories where the man, Draco, would bully and try to get her parents expelled. From what she had heard, the Malfoy family were an evil pureblood family who were all sorted into Slytherin. And apparently the Malfoys were death eaters (followers of Voldemort) back in the first and second Wizarding War.

"Make sure you beat him at every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains." Ron said suddenly as he stared at the blonde man grudgingly.

"Ron for heaven's sake," Said her mom, half stern, half amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry." He said, but added. "Don't get _too_ friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

 _But Granddad Weasley is a pureblood himself._ Rose thought.

"Hey!" She heard James running up in excitement. "Teddy's back there!" He said breathlessly, pointing behind him.

Teddy was Harry's Godson, which would mean he was their cousin.

"Just seen him!" James continued. "And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!" He stopped like he thought no one had heard him properly.

"Our Teddy!" He tried again, "Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

"You interrupted them?" Asked Aunt Ginny in disbelief. "You are so like Ron-"

"-And he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" He added desperately.

He evidently thought that this was the biggest news of the century. Rose had known about Teddy and Victoire for some time now. Victoire was her Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's eldest daughter who was very pretty with strawberry blonde hair and freckles. Teddy's late mother was a metamorphmagus (a witch or wizard with the ability to change one's appearance at will) and late father was werewolf which made Teddy half of each, though he didn't have any werewolf characteristics. His parents had been great people who fought Voldemort during the second wizarding war and both died together during the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, a month after Teddy was born. Though Harry was named Godfather before their death, Teddy was raised by his grandmother, Harry being only seventeen at the time. Teddy and Victoire had been seeing each other for a few months now, though there was always an electric connection between them. James seemed to be the only one that didn't know and he was the closest to Teddy.

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married." Said Lily ecstatically. "Teddy would really be part of the family then."

"He already comes to dinner about four times a week." Said Harry.

"Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?"

"Yeah!" Said James, he obviously didn't realize that Harry was joking. "I don't mind sharing with Al – Teddy can have my room!"

"No," Said Harry firmly, "you and Al will share a room when I want the house demolished." He checked his watch. "It's almost eleven, you'd better get on board."

"Don't forget to give Neville our love." Said Ginny to James.

"Go ask him, ask him now." Rose said to Al, gesturing to Harry.

"He's busy." Said Al trying to find an excuse. Harry wasn't doing anything. "He's... he's listening to mom."

James swung his leg at Al, but Al kicked it away.

"See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

"I thought they were invisible," Said Al frantically, "You said they were invisible."

"Tell him." Rose whispered in Albus' ear, "I'll be on the train." She walked to her parents who both kissed her. She hugged Hugo and he handed her his baseball cap, she smiled and rubbed his hair. After being forces to pose in front of the train, and a few embarrassing photos were taken, they all bid each other farewell and Rose stepped up onto the scarlet steam engine.


	2. A Long Awaited Ride

**S** corpius Malfoy had gotten onto the train before most of the other kids had. It was his first year and he already had the Malfoy reputation stamped on his head, and their reputation wasn't a very good one. All of his ancestors where in Slytherin and most were found on the wrong side of the war when it ended, twice. It made no difference that some members of his family had changed their ways, or had even given a formal apology. Well, just one. The rest of his relatives were still stubborn in the beliefs and trade that he himself didn't approve of. One of the reasons he wasn't close to his family. But harder for him was the fact that he looked so much like a Malfoy with his blonde hair and pale skin and blue, almost grey eyes, and even his pointed features, though they weren't as pronounced as his fathers.

He was struggling to get his trunk onto the top rack above his seat in the compartment. He would be able to get it above his head but not quite high enough to get it to the top rack. It was when he dropped his trunk with a loud crash that someone appeared at the doorway,

"Need help?" A boy asked.

Scorpius looked up, the boy was a third year with sandy brown hair and was already wearing his robes that had a Gryffindor crest embroidered on them. "Yeah that'd be great." Scorpius replied.

And with the boys help they were able to lift the trunk onto the rack with ease.

"Thanks." He said holding out his hand. "My names Scorpius."

The boy faltered when reaching for his hand. He looked into Scorpius' face for the first time and apparently recognized him as a Malfoy because he grabbed Scorpius' hand quickly and grunted,

"Finnigan." and walked out without another word.

Scorpius sat down, felling rather depressed. This wasn't the first introduction that had gone that way. He had wanted to be excited, anticipating his first day at school, he had, after all, been waiting eleven years for it. But he wasn't thrilled, wasn't enthusiastic. The truth was, he had no friends, nobody he knew at Hogwarts. Well unless you counted Parkinson, but he wasn't.

He looked at his reflection in the window. His dad had a picture of himself on his first day of school, and Scorpius looked almost exactly like it next to his features being a bit softer. Scorpius, still looking at his reflection, ruffled his perfectly slick hair until it was just hanging in his face, he ran his fingers through it and combed it upward. That helped a little, he didn't look of much like an exact replica.

He sat back in his chair and looked up. He had just noticed that there was another trunk in the rack opposite him.

 _Seriously_ _?_ he thought. _I was the first to get here and have picked the only compartment that somebody else had already chosen?_

He thought about moving but then he'd have to take his trunk down and put it somewhere else. No, he'd just have to sit back and hope that whoever owned the trunk wasn't annoying, or whiny, or angry, or just stupid; he didn't get along with stupid people.

Rose walked to the very back of the train because that was the compartment that her parents had always sat in, and where many stories had been told or taken place. She thought that it would be slightly poetic. Though when she slid the compartment door open, which squeaked, someone else was already sitting in it. Rose made eye contact with the boy she had seen on the platform, Scorpius Malfoy.

 _Shoot_ _._ She thought to herself. Rose considered walking back out and finding a different compartment, but that would have made it way too obvious that she wasn't comfortable sitting with him. _Though_ , she thought, _it has already become obvious because I have been staring for fifteen seconds already._

So she continued slowly in a seat opposite. No words were spoken for a moment. Did he know who she was? Or was he just socially awkward?

"Sorry." Rose said having to break the silence, she couldn't stand it. "I didn't know anyone else was in here."

"Well you were actually here first," he said gesturing to her trunk that Molly had helped drag back here. "So I'm sorry."

His voice wasn't cold as she had suspected, but rather friendly. Though she couldn't mistake fear in his voice.

"You're Malfoy right?" she asked relaxing slightly.

But this question didn't relax him at all. On the contrary, he looked suddenly grim, as though she had reminded him of something unpleasant.

"Only, my dad pointed you guys out on the platform." she said. She wished she hadn't had said anything at all.

"Yeah," he said obviously trying to act casual. "I saw you guys point us out on the platform.

Oh, oh this is awkward. Did they hear was Ron was saying?

"Sorry." she said looking down at her shoelaces.

"It's alright," he said leaning back in his chair. "we get that a lot."

His social skills were rusty, that was clear.

The compartment door squeaked open and Al was standing there.

"There you are Rosie," he said. "I was looking. Just like you to make me pull my trunk all the way to the back."

Rose was greatly relieved to see him. He had always been way more comfortable with awkward situations, causing many of them himself.

Al came heaving his trunk into the small compartment and Scorpius was forced to lift his feet from the aisle.

"Give me a hand with this won't you Rose?" Al asked taking one side of the trunk, he didn't seem to notice that Scorpius was even there.

Rose took the other side and together they lifted it above their heads. She felt it suddenly tip backward and fall behind her. She tucked her head in and gave a small scream, but no crash came. Scorpius had stood on the seat behind them and caught it. They successfully settled it onto the rack above and all took seats again, Al beside Rose.

Al looked from Rose to Scorpius for a moment as if waiting for something. She remembered and quickly said,

"Oh, Scorpius this is my cousin Albus, Al, this is Scorpius, we just met."

Al looked at him again, but smiled and shook Scorpius' outstretched hand.

"Rosie," he said suddenly turning to her. "I talked to dad, and he reckons I can choose any house I want!"

The sorting was done at Hogwarts, Rose knew, using a hat. An old Wizards hat would be placed on the first year's head, then it would call out what it thinks the best house for the person is based on what's in your head, whether you're smart, ambitious, brave, or loyal.

"Really? Are you going to?" said Rose skeptically.

"Well I'm not going to miss the opportunity am I?"

"I dunno Al, Neville said that the hat was on his head for nearly five minutes because he was arguing with it, he wanted to be in Hufflepuff but the hat put him in Gryffindor instead." Neville was Al's godfather and a Professor at Hogwarts.

Al's confidence and sudden excitement seemed to deflate. Rose could have kicked herself.

Rose and Albus looked outside the open window to get one last look at their parents. They noticed that many other heads were looking at her and Al's parents too.

"Why are they all starring?" Al asked.

"Don't let it worry you," Ron said from the platform, finally catching sight of them when Al spoke. "It's me. I'm extremely famous." They laughed and waved to their families, and the train jerked suddenly and steamed away.

There was a small silence as all three of them looked around. Rose pulled from her pocket, the Hogwarts pamphlet she had bought and flipped it open. The first page was devoted to the train ride. The picture showed two students staring awkwardly at each other, then the second picture showed them laughing and getting along quite nicely. Both photos were moving, like they always did in the wizarding world. She read the first page,

" _Silences are not an ideal way to spend your trip. Unless the person across from you personally request it, which in that case, find another compartment. The people you share a compartment with typically become your very first friends at school. Staring is a big no-no! Unless you're having a contest that is. Start a conversation, with a topic the other person likes by peering around quickly to investigate the scene. For example, is the person across from you is holding book on Herbology, say something like, 'So you like Herbology? What's your favorite plant?' they may respond with, 'Yes, I do like Herbology. My favorite plant is the watercollar.' Or 'Uh-huh.' In which case, you will need to work a tad harder. If they respond well, you may say 'I've never been very good at Herbology; I have always been more interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts.'_

 _See? First you intrigue them with a topic they find interesting, then you bring about an interest of your own, thus making the conversation mutual._

 _You may ask them about which house they want to be in, or which house their family was in, thus bringing the conversation to a deeper, more personal level._

 _If talking is not your strength, try taking your wand out and doing a few tricks. Find easy and simple spells and charms on page 7, if you have not attempted any of these spells or charms, try them with your wand facing the window just in case, just do not point your wand at yourself, or anyone else. If you preform the spell or charm wrong, it may cause a laugh anyway._

 _Maybe try a joke. Jokes are the best-_ "

Rose stopped reading and looked around the silent compartment. The scenery outside had become rather cluttered with houses and buildings streets and people. Al was picking at his fingernails and Scorpius was staring out the window. She looked around again, well, she didn't just buy the pamphlet to look at, she might as well take some of the advice. She peered around to find a topic that intrigued Scorpius. He was wearing his Hogwarts robes, had a small bulge in his pocket and a bare trunk on the rack above. Instead, she opened her mouth to tell a joke, then closed it when remembering that she had never told a joke that anyone had laughed at before.

"What house are you wanting to be sorted into when you get there?" she finally decided to ask.

"Anything but Slytherin." said Al not thinking and evidentially not knowing that she wasn't asking him.

Rose glanced wide eyed at Scorpius the son of Slytherin kin, expecting him to become highly affronted and lash out, but he just nodded.

"I like Ravenclaw." he said. "but I'll most likely be in Slytherin, and that's fine too."

Rose and Al stared at him.

"I really just want to go wherever I'll do best. And if I don't try to meddle, the sorting hat will put me there, and wherever I'm put, I'll do well, so I'm not worried."

Al seemed to think for a moment.

Rose looked around again. Well that topic hadn't lasted long at all. Finally, not finding anything on the kid to indicate his interests, she decided to bring about one of hers.

"Are you trying out for the Quidditch team at Hogwarts?" she asked.

"I'll try out yeah." said Scorpius, "You?"

"Definitely." she said. "Al?"

"Nope." said Al leaning back in his seat. "I prefer watching I think. Besides, first years don't usually make the house teams, a lot more than they used to, but still, not often."

"Well I'm gonna go for it." said Rose. "And if I don't make it, I'll try for next year, and if I don't make that, I'll try again the following year and so on. I'm going to play Quidditch at Hogwarts I swear I am." She had a mad glint in her eye that only appeared when she was talking about Quidditch or answering questions that older wizards couldn't.

"I never really thought that girls should play sports." said Scorpius in an offhand sort of way.

Rose's eyebrows rose up for forehead in an, _excuse me?_ Kind of way.

Scorpius double took at her, seemingly surprised at her reaction to this. Then at Al who was shaking his head wide eyed in warning.

"Oh!" said Scorpius catching on finally. "No, I didn't mean they shouldn't, I'm not prejudice, no. I just meant that its- er- unusual." this wasn't helping.

Rose had her arms crossed now and was leaning back still with eyebrows raised. She was not as angry as she looked because she was starting to enjoy watching Scorpius trying to find an excuse.

"Not like unusual, like it's weird," he continued trying. Al had his face in his hands and was looking from Rose to Scorpius trying not to smile.

"I just mean-" he slowed down, "That the females from where I live don't even go outside without shoes. I was taught that men were supposed to be gentlemen, and women were supposed to be ladies, and the ladies I grew up around, wouldn't be caught dead on a broom. Women playing sports is unusual to me, but not judged. That's all."

"So I'm not a lady if I play sport?" she asked.

Scorpius sputtered.

"It's okay," she smiled. "I'm just giving you a hard time."

"So you don't watch Quidditch either?" Rose asked.

"No, I watch it." Scorpius replied. "I like the Chudley Cannons; though they haven't won in a while."

"Why do you like them then?" Al asked.

"Because their match was the first match I had ever seen live. It's what made me take an interest in Quidditch in the first place."

"The Chudley Cannons is my dad's favorite team." Rose said. "He'll be interested to know that there is still someone in Britain who likes them too; he thinks he's the only one left."

Rose was becoming more comfortable talking to him, maybe because he was becoming more comfortable too.

"Have you read their book?" she asked.

"You mean _Flying with the Cannons_? I've been meaning to, but no." he responded.

"Actually-" Rose remembered, and took from her travel bag, that very same book, and handed it to him. "I brought this book with me, hoping to read it at some point, my dad's been pestering me to."

"Are you letting me read it?" he asked taking it slowly.

"Well I didn't hand it to you to look at did I?"

"Do you mind if I close the blinds?" he asked taking a pair of reading glasses from pocket and fitting them over his nose.

He reached up and snapped the window shut. "Only, I get motion sickness when I read while moving."

He sat back and opened the book which cracked at the spine.

"You've never even opened it?" he asked peering at Rose over his glasses.

"No." She said, "I told you I've never read it."

He looked back at the book and turned a page while mumbling something that sounded like, " _But not even opened it_?"

Rose was looking at him. Whatever she had expected from a Malfoy, this wasn't it. Had her dad been exaggerating in the stories he had told her and Hugo? Or could those have just been lies? Or perhaps something huge struck the Malfoy family making Draco change his ways, because no father with influence, which she had been told Draco had, could have raised a respectful son. Or maybe Scorpius was just acting like this because he was bored, he may show his true Malfoy colors when he gets to Slytherin and meets more like himself.

Scorpius looked up slightly and caught her eye. She looked down quickly, she had been staring; she hated when she does that.

Instead, she busied herself with the muggle baseball cap that Hugo had given her. She undid the bun on her head and put it on so the bill was over her eyebrow.

"How do muggles see in these things?" She said with her chin raised so that she could see Al's face.

"No, you have to adjust it." said Al. He reached over and lifted the bill so she could see. "Dad wears them all the time." He said. He reached through the back of the hat and pulled her hair through it.

"That's what mom does when she wears them." he said.

They were talking about different things muggles use to keep the sun from their eyes for a while.

"Hugo loves muggle stuff," said Rose. "as you know. He never stops asking mom questions about it." Al looked at Scorpius who let out a short laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"It's just something in the book." he answered. Al continued to look at him.

Scorpius cleared his throat and read,

" _In 1922 Luki Matlock of Matchbox, who was voted the worst seeker of the 20th Century in the Wizard Sports paper, 'The Weekend Worlock'. had, on 12 November, took a ferocious dive into a buzzing crowd, during their tournament against the Chudley Cannons. In a later interview he confessed that had thought he'd seen the golden snitch which ended up being a decorative snitch atop an elderly witch's hat. The dive resulted in Matchbox's forfeit and loss of the match, including injures to both Matlock and the witch, Betty Snider. The elderly witch sued Matlock for the injury and in turn he tried to sue her for tricking him with the decorative hat piece_."

He finished reading. Rose laughed.

"I heard about that." Said Al. "It was a bad crash dad told me." he continued seriously. Rose and Scorpius stopped smiling; he didn't seem to notice.

"He ended up slipping off the end of his broomstick, the dive was too steep. He fell some fifty-feet. The broom ended up hitting a young girl in the eye. She had to go to St. Mungo's for treatment." He finished and looked up. Both of them looked guilty for thinking it was funny.

"Sorry," Al said apologetically seeing their faces. "I have a habit of doing that."

"Yeah he does." came a familiar voice from the doorway, they looked to find James. "Every year on my birthday, he tells me that I'm one year closer to death, its bloody depressing."

James' half smile suddenly fell as his eyes swept the compartment and landed on who they were sitting with.

Rose, who noticed his change of pace, cleared her throat and said,

"James, this is Scorpius, Scorpius, this is my cousin James."

Neither of them responded, James was looking at Scorpius as if he couldn't see him properly, and Scorpius was waiting on James to decide something.

"But-" James started finally in a quiet voice. "But he's a Malfoy..."

 _Oh crap_. Rose thought. This was exactly the reaction that she had been afraid of.

"So?" Al said shrugging, but it was clear that he was now feeling the uncomfortable tension that was ringing their necks.

"Why?" James started again.

 _Please no_. Rose thought.

"Are you sitting with-?"

 _No, no, no, no_.

"A Malfoy?"

Rose slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Because we can do what I want." Al responded seeming angry.

"No- Why would you _want_ to?" this seemed too much for James' brain to wrap around.

"James why do you care who we're sharing a compartment with?" Rose snapped. "We can do what we want and you're not our dad, and unless you have something nice to say, I suggest you leave."

Something nice to say? Ugh, that's what her mom always said, and it sounded even cheesier coming from herself.

James was looking from Rose, to Al, to Scorpius.

"Are you two cunfunded?" he asked in disbelief. "You've heard the stories; you know who this is!" he was pointing at Scorpius. "He tried to expel our parents, he almost killed my mother, he is responsible for Dumbledore's death, it's his fault dad's godfather was killed in the first place, and it was him who almost killed both our parents!"

"He never did any of those things!" she protested.

"I'm talking about Malfoys and he's one of them!"

"James?" Rose barked.

"Have I done something to provoke you as an individual?" Scorpius cut across her in a calm voice, but his knuckles were white around the binding of _Flying with the Cannons._

 _Rose thought that, that question was phrased awfully classy for an eleven-year-old._

"Have I _offended_ you in some way? Because otherwise I find your preconceived idea of me to be inappropriate."

"Look," said James talking directly to Scorpius for the first time, with his finger in the boy's face. "I'm not prejudice. But if you had any respect as a human being you would walk out of this compartment now."

"I've never done anything to you!" Scorpius protested.

"Your family!" growled James.

"Should I judge you on everything your family has done?"

"I wouldn't mind." Said James. "My parents are good people who don't suck on the most powerful boss they can like leaches. Slytherins and Gryffindors don't commune for one, much less-"

"We haven't even been sorted yet!" cried Scorpius indigently.

"I know what you are," said James, "and I know what you'll become."

"You know nothing about me!"

"I know everything about you!" James shouted, and Rose had just noticed the compartment across the hall had opened their door and the girls were listening to the argument. "You'll be sorted into Slytherin," he continued, "and you'll become just like the rest of them, sick and twisted."

Al's face had gone a sort of sweaty green.

"-just like your father." James finished.

Scorpius jumped to his feet suddenly which made Rose jump and James staggered back slightly, surprised to find that Scorpius was practically his same height.

"Don't you ever say a word against my father, Potter." Scorpius said through clinched teeth.

"Your father?" James snorted, "He was worse than them all."

"My father is a good man!" Scorpius positively shouted. A few eyes were now peering through the glass of the compartment door to watch.

"I'd hate for you to go running away with a false idea of your father -dear Draco-" James hissed.

Scorpius and James were now almost chest to chest, both blowing themselves up to their full height.

"I know who my dad is!" Scorpius spat. "But I hardly think there's a need to explain to you, you seem to have made up your mind about him, about us!"

Rose reached out to grab Scorpius' robes and pull him back, this was getting way out of hand. But Al caught her wrist with a warning shake of his head.

"Let me tell you something-" James started, but was cut off as Scorpius said,

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say! And if you would be so kind." losing control of his temper, Scorpius placed his hand on James's chest and positively threw him from the compartment and slammed the door in his face.

James staggered back upright from the other side of the glass, almost tripping on the crowd that had gathered in the outside corridor. James looked furiously at Scorpius then at Al, then Rose, then finally, he stormed away through a muttering crowd who soon dispersed when they found that the show was over.

Scorpius stood at the door for a moment, his chest heaving, then made his way back to his seat and more aggressively than he should, tore open _Flying with the Cannons_ , which had been abandoned on the floor, and stuck his nose in it.

Rose and Al held their breath for a moment. The momentary shock of what had just happened was wearing off and Rose's surprise was turning to anger toward James.

 _How dare he_. She thought. _How dare he_! There was no need for that! Sure she had expected him to be surprised, but not to blow up! Not like that.

Scorpius acted as if he were reading, but Rose noticed that his eyes weren't scanning the page. After a moment of silence, she and Al turned back to each other in search for a topic.

'SLAM' Scorpius shut the book abruptly.

"You know what I hate?" he asked. Nobody answered.

"Presumption." he said. "Everyone thinks that I'll be like my parents, or grandparents. Like you," he pointed to Rose, "I know you're a Weasley, but I don't expect you to be just like Hermione or Ron, you're your own person. I am my own person!" he spoke as if he was trying to convince them.

"We know." said Al.

"Why does everyone pre-assume?" Scorpius continued.

" _We_ didn't pre-" Rose started, but he cut across her.

"Yes you did don't even act like you didn't." he said impatiently. "You don't think I saw you try to leave when you saw me? I've gotten that same look too many times for me to count, I got one just before you entered the compartment. I am a Malfoy. I look like a Malfoy, and there's nothing that I can do about that. Yes, I will probably be in Slytherin, and I will be the best one in history." He had a kind of mad glint in his eye.

"I understand." said Al.

"No you don't." Scorpius replied looking at him. "Your parents were brilliant, you're the prodigy of the famous Harry Potter, no one expects anything bad from you."

"How did you know I was a Po-"

"You look just like your dad." Scorpius said with an impatient wave of his hand.

"But I do know what you mean." Al started.

"I already said, you can't poss-"

"There are two sides to presumption Scorpius." said Al hotly. "My parents were brilliant. So naturally everyone will expect brilliance from me as well." There was a silence. "My dad killed Voldemort, and was an excellent Quidditch player. You wanna know why I'm not joining the Gryffindor team? My granddad was a talented Quidditch player, along with my dad, and my brother, and uncle. And my mom played for the Holyhead Harpies and now writes about Quidditch. Everybody will expect me to do the same. Nobody will see me as Albus Potter, they'll see me as Harry Potter's son." he finished.

"Same." Rose spoke up. "My mom was brilliant, very smart. People called her the brightest witch of her age, top of every class, there wasn't a question that she couldn't answer. Both our parents were on chocolate frog cards." She gestured toward herself and Al. "You may have a lot to redeem, we have a lot to live up to, if we don't, people will be disappointed."

There was a silence as Scorpius thought, then he gave a weak smile. "Why are we so worried?" He said finally. "Why don't we just let everyone think what they want? Why don't we just surprise them however we turn out. Why should we give a crap?"

Their attitude changed dramatically after that. Their conversations became more enjoyable. They talked about Quidditch and food, the classes they're most excited about. The conversation didn't roll over the sorting. They were all nervous about it now, it was obvious, but none of them wanted to force the others to talk.

After a little while the food cart visited their compartment. With the money between them, they ended up being able to get at least one of each item. They only got one packet of the cockroach cluster, chocolate covered crickets, Bertie Botts every flavor beans, and yogurt dipped leaches, which were all bought by Al who insisted on trying everything.

Rose loved Al's adventurous attitude toward things like that, but she couldn't help but gag when the leach squeaked as Al bit it.

They all really enjoyed the food except for Rose who tried a bit of cockroach cluster and almost hit Scorpius when she had spit it out.

Scorpius wasn't going to try any of it. He looked at the cockroach cluster which was pretty much just bits of cockroach, antennas, legs, eyes, wings, all stuck together by molasses, and momentarily lost his appetite for any other food.

"I have a weak stomach." he gagged as he pushed away the blood lollipops that Rose had been waving in front of his face.

Al tried the lollipop though.

"What does it taste like?" Rose asked him. Al smacked his lips together for a moment.

"Iron." he smacked his lips more. "O+"

"Really?" asked Scorpius amazed.

"No, not really." said Al spitting. "I'm not a vampire; this is disgusting."

They passed the Bertie Botts every flavor beans around, each trying one. Rose and Al, gagging, spiting, and almost vomiting, and Scorpius eating them without even wincing. And Rose knew she recognized an earthworm, vomit, and a sausage, and still he just swallowed.

"Okay," said Al, eyes watering and face reddening from a chili pepper flavored one. "How are you not fazed by these? I saw you eat one red with green spots like I just have, there's no way you can't be sweating right now. _Weak stomach indeed_." Scorpius popped a black one in his mouth while Al spoke, and he smiled.

"I'm not chewing them." he said calmly. "Look." he took a light pink one and put it in his mouth swallowed, then showed them the absence of the bean. Then he twirled his arms in a 'Ta Da!' kind of way. Rose laughed and Al said,

"You suck. You know that?"

The compartment door swung open to emit Fred.

"Thought I'd pop about the train and visit everyone." he said, sitting beside Scorpius and propping his feet beside Al.

"Fred!" said Rose delightedly, "This is Scorpius." Fred turned to look at him, noticing that he was a Malfoy, he turned back toward Rose, she nodded, and Fred looked, again, at Scorpius. "Nice to meet you," he said firmly shaking Scorpius' hand.

Rose sighed in relief, and so did Scorpius.

"What have you been doing to entertain yourself?" Fred asked.

"Reading." said Scorpius, "Talking." said Al. "And eating." said Rose.

"That won't do at all." said Fred, "I pantsed a prefect in my first trip."

"Yeah, well, we're not doing that." said Al.

"Suit yourself." Fred said standing back up. "I'm visiting Dominique. Oh and Rose," he turned around and bent low over her face. "You have a little," he licked his thumb and started rubbing her nose.

"Stop Fred!" she laughed, while swatting his hand away, her face turning red. Fred walked out and closed the door behind him.

"I like him." said Scorpius suddenly.

"Do I really have something on my nose?" Rose asked Al.

"Yeah." he replied. "I think it's chocolate, just there." he licked his thumb and started rubbing at her nose too.

"Al!"

The door swung open and Rose looked up hoping to see Fred again. But it wasn't Fred, it was a girl that Rose had never seen before. She looked third year, but she was wearing first year robes. She had black hair and was rather large in bone but short in height, when she spoke, it was with a cold sort of confidence.

"Scorpius, oh there you are." she said, not even acknowledging Rose and Al's presence. "I've been looking all over the compartment, really I thought you would come to find me I mean, I am your only friend, but I suppose you didn't want to make that _too_ obvious, but I'm here now so why don't you come along?"

She said this all rather fast and in a slur which was hard to understand.

"Hello." said Rose looking over Al to see the girl. She was irritated that they had been completely ignored, it was really quite rude, her feelings were reflected in her words because they came out with sass.

The girl didn't even look.

"We're here too." Rose said.

"I don't care." said the girl lazily.

"Scor? Come on. I hear that there are Potters and Weasleys all over the train like termites. I think it'd be best if you don't come in contact with any of them blood tr-"

"I'm good here thanks." Scorpius interrupted.

There was a small silence where Rose tried to conceal a smirk.

"Scor?" she said with a smile that didn't reach her black eyes. "Come on, this isn't funny."

"Good, I'm not trying to be funny." said Scor. "I've met a couple people a would like to stay here."

The girl looked at Rose, then Al for the first time, she suddenly looked confused.

"Are you- a-?"

"Potter?" Al finished her question. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

"You're ditching me for a Potter?" she said furiously to Scorpius.

"And a Weasley." Scor replied gesturing toward Rose.

"Good day." Al said, and quite composedly walked to the door and closed it in her face. She huffed angrily and her breath fogged up the glass before she left.

"She seems nice." said Rose trying to hide her glee about what Al had just done.

"Poppy." said Scorpius. "I said that the girls I live around don't even go outside without shoes, well she's one of them, my neighbor."

"You don't seem very fond of her." said Al.

"Her mom's a friend of my dad's. He doesn't really like her family either but for old times' sake, they come over for dinner once a week. We tried for once a month, but they always show up uninvited every Monday evening for dinner and thank my mom for her hospitality."

"What do you not like about her?" Rose asked stringing a bit of licorice, "She seems like a ray of sunshine."

Scorpius smiled.

"She's very... prejudice. Hates all things muggle, muggle born, half-bloods, blood traitors-"

Rose was becoming slightly nervous. Scorpius had proven so far not to be a stereotypical Malfoy, but one of the oldest Malfoy beliefs that had been passed down through generation, was that anyone who was not a pure blood wasn't worthy to be a witch or wizard.

"I'm always forced to listen to Poppy rant about her twisted opinions, quite stupid really but I'm never able to get rid of her; she really does think we're friends."

As the time streaked by, the sun did too, it was becoming very dark. The three kids introduced their wands, talked about the cores, and whenever Al tried to do a shrinking spell on a chocolate frog, there was a loud POOF, and Al was engulfed in smoke. ("Oh I think you have a little," said Rose. And both she and Scorpius licked their thumbs and rubbed at Al's face laughing.)

Rose used her sketchbook and pens to teach the others how to play hang-man, a game her brother had taught her. They each had a turn and deciding that it was boring, had Scorpius teach them how to play poker instead, which was made difficult because the cards kept sliding across the seats whenever the train moved. Al's hand kept yelling "CHEAT! CHEAT! WE HAVE A CHEATER!" every time it was his turn, and come to find out, he was looking at Scorpius' cards through the reflection in his reading glasses. They had a few more visitors. Molly visited them, along with Roxanne and Victoire. When Victoire arrived, Scorpius just starred opened mouthed. She was after all, 1/8 vela, her long strawberry blonde hair hit him across the face when she turned to leave.

"Close your mouth Scor, she's taken." said Rose smiling at the look on his face.

At one point, they were visited by a pretty Gryffindor prefect who was walking across the whole train to tell students that they will be arriving soon and to get into their robes. Al was the only one there who wasn't dressed.

"Just one more game." He would say.

Rose was getting tired. She kept waking up in pain from hitting her head against the window but didn't remembering leaning toward it. Rose watched Scorpius and Al throwing her glowing ball back and forth and closed her eyes for a second then without warning the train jerked to a stop and flung her onto the train floor.

Al laughed and Scorpius said, "Oh, we're here."

Rose looked at Al and though disorientated from just waking up she said,

"Al, your robes!" Al stopped laughing and looked down at the muggle clothes he was still wearing. "Go, go, change, quickly!" She said.

Al stood up and tried to run as fast as he could to the bathrooms, but it wasn't easy because of the many students pouring from their compartments. Together, she and Scorpius were pushed and shoved all down the crowded corridor. They did a little pushing and shoving back. There were a few people who, when catching sight of Scorpius, moved out of the way quickly. All Rose had to do was follow closely behind him.

They made it out of the train, but when they heard Hagrid's booming voice yelling, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Come on, don' be shy!" Instead of joining him, they stayed to wait for Al.

Hagrid was a half giant with big bushy brown and grey beard and hair. He was also one of her and Al's parent's best friends since childhood. He visits them from time to time at their homes. He's come around for Christmas for the past few years. Ron had told her that he was the one to bring the first years to the castle, and that they went in boats.

A little while passed and there was still no sight of Al. Rose suggested Scorpius going in there to get him, but students were still flowing from the train which made it almost impossible to go back in.

They heard Hagrid saying, "So is that everyone?"

They didn't have to raise their arms and wave frantically because a moment after he said it, he looked around and said.

"Wait a momen'. I'm missin' some." Al burst from the train finally. "Where's Rose and Albus?"

"We're here!" Yelled Rose running up to him.

"Great." He said catching sight of them. "Alrigh', C'mon. We're goin' to the boats, stay close behind me."

They walked a short way down a dark, narrow, decline beside trees. Because there were quite a few first years, everyone was tripping over each other. But in a moment there was an opening in the dense path and they heard many "Ooo's" and "Aaahh's" but being in the back of the line, they couldn't see what was so amazing. Until the crowd parted a bit and they were able to squeeze closer.

Then they saw it. A beautiful, gigantic castle, settled atop a mountain across a vast lake which reflected the moon and stars across its black canvas. Rose had developed an image of exactly what Hogwarts would be and look like, but staring at it now with its many towers and lit windows standing proudly, she had never seen anything more beautiful. Rose felt a smile spread across her face and something grip her stomach, she couldn't tell if it was nerves or excitement.

"Four to a boat!" Hagrid called, "I don' wanna see any more than four to a boat!"

Scorpius, Rose and Al squeezed close, so that they would be placed in boats together. They saw Poppy's upturned nose through many pairs of shoulders, she was looking at Scorpius with disgust. A few minutes had passed and they were now gliding gracefully across the lake. It was all very quiet, the other first year must have that sick stomach feeling that was working its way through Rose. The silence was broken a moment later however, by a small black boy leaning over the edge of the boat in front of them, and vomiting. There was an outburst of laughter. Hagrid looked around.

"Alrigh' that's enough. You okay?" The boy nodded weakly and Hagrid turned back around before he could see the boy puke again. The girls that he was in the boat with were squealing.

After a little while longer where they were led through a hidden cave, completely dark except for Hagrid's lantern. They ended up on a gravel bank. The puking boy vomited once again. Hagrid patted him on the back as if he was coughing, but because Hagrid was so much bigger and stronger than he was, it almost knocked him into his own sick if it weren't for the many, much smaller hands, that pulled him back by the robes.

"Here." Said a blonde boy holding out a piece of gum, which the puking boy ate gratefully. They were led up a stone staircase and to a huge pair of oak front doors. Hagrid knocked on the door and waited.

Suddenly, a terrible, blood curdling scream ripped through the air and many of the other students screamed and curled into a ball, the highest and loudest was from a very large boy who tried to turn it into a cough. The horrible scream turned into cackles and with a 'pop' a tiny man floating in midair with mischievous eyes and a mouth like that of a frog, was holding his belly laughing.

"Peeves, 'yeh menace!" growled Hagrid. "Get outa here!"

The tiny man blew a raspberry and disappeared laughing.

"Peeves." Said Hagrid. "A poltergeist. Yer'd better watch out 'fir 'em." Hagrid knocked again harder and everyone waited in anticipation.


	3. Through the Oak Front Doors

**T** he huge oak front door opened slowly and in the doorway was a tall, broad, middle aged, dark haired wizard.

"All safe and sound." Said Hagrid.

"Thank you Professor, you may take your seat in the great hall." The man replied in a pleasant tone and had the ghost of a Spanish accent.

Rose was looking around the entrance hall wide eyed. It was the biggest room she had ever seen. The walls were lit by torches and there was a marble staircase that led upward and the ceiling seemed to just keep going forever, but then, she thought, the ceiling could be only ten feet tall but a charm that was on it could cause it to look high. That was the thing about a magic castle. They were led past a door with chattering and excited voices inside it, to be taken to the left and into a rather small room.

The tall wizard turned to look at them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." He said smiling. "I'm Professor Dalbert. I understand that many of you are probably hungry, and the start of term banquet will begin soon so don't worry. But before anything else, you will have to be sorted into your houses. They are called, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Each house has its own splendid history. Whichever house you are in, will be your family while you are here. You will eat, sleep, learn, and play with the others in your house. I'll tell you now, things like answering questions, winning sports or other competitions will earn your house points. But any foolery, disrespect, or other disregard for our rules will lose your house points. At the end of the school year, whichever house has the most points will be rewarded the house cup. But be warned, the Hogwarts houses will get very competitive in this competition, so try not to mess it up for them. Remember, as Hogwarts students, we are _all_ a family despite our sorting, your house will simply be intermediate. Do you all understand what I have told you?" He asked looking around. "Any questions?"

A scared little girl raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Umm, Professor Dalbert, umm..." Stammered the girl. "How will we be sorted?"

Many faces looked anxious.

"Well," Said the Professor. "you will try on an ancient hat, and it will tell your which house you will be in based on what's in your head."

Many of the students let out a sigh of relief. Clearly glad that someone had asked the question that many of them were dying to know.

"Alright then. Now if you will all please form a line, neatly, neatly kids, come on you're not trolls, a straight line. Good."

And he led them into a great room Rose knew as the great hall. It was as if she had walked into a dream place, all the stories that she had been told, many had taken place in this room. There were thousands of lit candles floating in midair below an enchanted ceiling. Rose peered upward at the ceiling that she was told reflects the sky above except on Holidays. Right now, it was a dull grey and light rain was beginning to fall, stopping right before it hit any of the students. There were four long tables each with older students wearing pointed black hats and different color ties. One table was wearing green and silver, one with crimson and gold, one with yellow and black, and one with blue and bronze. Above each table were long banners each with that house mascot, a lion, an eagle, a serpent, and a badger. There was one more table at the end of the room where the teachers sat. The first years were led from the side of the room and in front of the teachers table.

Professor Dalbert conjured an old three-legged stool from thin air, where it stood beside himself. There were a few "Wows" from a couple first years. _Muggleborn_. Rose thought. Dalbert pulled a wizard's hat from what seemed like nowhere and placed it on top of the stool. The hat was very old, very dirty, very patched, and burnt. Everyone was looking at it. One girl said,

"I have to put that on my head?" In a hushed, disgusted voice.

Rose knew that they had to try it on, her mom had told her that after her dad had tried to tell her that they had to fight a dragon to be sorted. A seam tore near the bottom of the hat as they watched. The seam moved for a moment than opened wide and a voice escaped it and began to sing;

" _Hogwarts, oh, Hogwarts, how beautiful is she,_

 _Home to many witches, wizard, beasts, and me._

 _For years upon years I have sat on your shelf,_

 _Listening through walls in spite of myself,_

 _I've heard laughter and fun, knowledge and learning,_

 _War and confusion, crying and hurting,_

 _Hogwarts together through thick and thin,_

 _The rival between our houses is now at a mend,_

 _For once we all fought, mocked and hated each other,_

 _But here you are now, sitting beside one another,_

 _First years before me know not where they'll go,_

 _But all with nerves and excitement they show,_

 _For some may be in Ravenclaw, smart with eager minds,_

 _Or perhaps Hufflepuff, where kindness and loyalty vines,_

 _Maybe Slytherin, where resourcefulness, and determination sets them apart,_

 _Or it could be Gryffindor, ones with courage and possess a brave heart,_

 _Whatever it be, you will soon find,_

 _For when you try me on, I'll see into your mind,_

 _So step up first years and take the test,_

 _And I will put you where you will do best."_

There was a great round of applause that followed the hat's song. Dalbert raised a hand and the cheering slowly died away. Rose looked around the room at her cousins who smiled and waved at her. James' was a bit stiff.

"When I call your name-" He announced, holding up a scroll that Rose could have sworn he didn't have before. "-you will come sit on the stool and try the hat on. When the hat yells out your house, you will go and join your table." He held the scroll up and scanned the list.

"Albert, Benjamin." He called.

A brown haired boy clambered up to the stool and waited, white faced. He stood there for a moment, professor Dalbert gestured toward the hat kindly, and getting the hint, the boy sat on the stool and pulled the hat onto his head. It slipped right over his eyes, being so big. It took a little while, for a moment nothing was happening, until the hat suddenly and very loudly shouted,

"Ravenclaw!"

There was an eruption of applause from the Ravenclaw table and Benjamin ran down and joined his new family, leaving the hat on the stool. Molly welcomed him gladly and people were ruffling his hair and patting his back.

"Americ, Kinnly!" A dark haired girl became a,

"Hufflepuff!"

"Ander, Penelope!" Was the next,

"Ravenclaw!"

And so it went on, name after name, some first years took a long time to sort.

"Balimp, Elvy!" Took a good three minutes before the hat pronounced him,

"Gryffindor!"

A great cheer broke out at the Gryffindor table and many people patted Elvy on the back and welcomed him. The other houses would clap and cheer, most people would shake the newcomers hand, but Gryffindor, being well known as the most enthusiastic house, would bang their empty goblets on the table, shout and accidently ruffle the first year up a bit when they joined the table. Elvy was completely buried in a mound of people welcoming him.

Rose wasn't paying much attention to the sorting now. She was peering pass Dalbert to the other teachers along the table. She saw Neville Longbottom the Herbology teacher and Hagrid who waved at her merrily. Madam Pomfrey the Matron, Professor Sinistra and Professor Flitwick were sitting at the table too. Professor Flitwick being so tiny of a man, probably part goblin, that his seat was elevated far higher than the others, to enable him to see properly. Rose had never spoken to either teacher but recognized them from her parents' description of them from their years at Hogwarts.

She had quizzed her parents constantly about Hogwarts, the sorting, classes, rooms corridors, trick steps, teacher, sorting, trails, exams, and the sorting. She knew exactly what she was supposed to do from first entering the castle to being sorting to joining her table and so on, that is, as long as the system hasn't changed since her parents' time.

"Hoban, Dallas!" The puking boy walked up.

"Gryffindor!"

"Daniel, Kaitlyn!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Everard, Vladimir!" a boy with indigo hair walked up and became a,

"Gryffindor!"

And it continued, until finally.

"Madison, Nolly!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Al hit him on the back encouragingly. But to their surprise, he walked up rather coolly. There were murmurs as he placed the hat on his head, many of the murmurs voiced words like _Malfoy_ and _Slytherin_.

The hat slipped over his eyes, and everyone waited... and waited... and waited. Rose looked at her watch, it was fuzzy and kept glitching, but she would guess that around four minutes had passed. She looked closely at him. His lips were moving silently; he was having a conversation with the hat! Until finally,

"Slytherin!"

Rose felt a little disappointed. She had really hoped that he might have been in Gryffindor, but like he had said, the hat would put you wherever you would do best... but if that were true, then why had he been talking to it?

There were identical quadruplets.

"Merik!" "Merik" "Merik" and "Merik" This last one was a girl.

"Gryffindor!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Slytherin!"

There was a hush that went around the hall. The girl burst into tears and walked miserably toward the Slytherin table and Scorpius moved over to allow the sobbing girl to sit. He looked uncomfortable, debating on whether to comfort her or ignore it. He awkwardly patted her on the back twice, then turned away. Al's face went white. Rose grabbed his hand and held tight.

"Oxle, Reese!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Parkinson, Poppy!" Scorpius' ' _friend'_ walked up and became a,

"Slytherin!"

"Potter, Albus!"

There was quite a lot of murmuring at this. Rose gripped his hand more tightly, then let go. Al walked up and sat on the stool. He placed the hat on his head and they waited. Rose clinched her teeth so tight it hurt. She waited somewhere around two minutes. And finally forced herself to breathe and calm down, when a voice yelled so loud that she jumped and all her muscles contacted,

"Slytherin!"

There was a spine chilling silence, but it seemed to be only in her head because when she looked around to the place Al was walking, there seemed to be people dressed in emerald green and silver, clapping and cheering. Though to only her it seemed, everything was muffled. Rose looked around toward the Gryffindor table and finally spotted James, starring with his mouth wide open in disbelief. She looked back at the Slytherin end and saw Al take the seat that Scorpius had made for him. Al looked confused, as if some terrible mistake had taken place. She stared for what felt like a short moment, but it wasn't a short moment because she suddenly heard Professor Dalbert's voice growing louder.

"Weasley, Rose..."

"Weasley, Rose!"

"WEASLEY, ROSE!"

She spun around to see Dalbert staring down at her in sternly. She ran up to the stool and sat down. She had apparently been lost in thought all the way through the Q, R, S, T, U's, and V'S. She saw Scorpius give her a thumbs up and Al was staring at his hands, not paying attention to anything. She slipped the hat over her eyes and she was plunged into darkness.

"Hmm..." Said a voice inside her head, "Well you're-"

"What are you playing at?" she interrupted furiously.

"Ah," said the hat. "You're displeased with my placing your cousin in-"

"Slytherin, yes." She finished its sentence. "He's not a Slytherin! He's loyal, smart, brave, didn't you see any of that?"

"Of course I did, I simply detected a good deal more of Slytherin." Said the hat impatiently. "I am never wrong."

"You were wrong about this!" she shouted.

"Calm down," suggested the hat. "You said that part out loud. I know how you're feeling; I can see everything in your head I think you're forgetting."

Rose felt violated and somehow wanted to cover up her subconscious.

"You realize that you have isolated him?" she asked angrily. "You have ostracized him from his family, friends, people who love him and who he loves back? Do you want to ruin his life?"

"You need to open your mind for heaven's sake!" said the sorting hat. "I'm the one who sorted The Great Merlin himself, who was a Slytherin! Your cousin in particular is a different case than your other cousins. He will flourish better outside of his comfort zone. He is a leader who has followed all his life and needs to step out. He has excellent potential to do great things if given the room to do them."

"Then why not Hufflepuff? Or Ravenclaw?" she shouted in her head.

"Because he is a Slytherin!" the hat shouted back. "I have been doing this for hundreds of years and hardly think it necessary to explain my methods to a first year who hasn't even begun learning anything about the power of the magic you're about to dive into. A bit of advice, learn when to hold your tongue if you want to get places in life. And really, ambition and determination are hardly things to be ashamed of."

"You made a mistake." She frowned.

"I don't make mistakes." It said again, annoyed. "That's something you need to understand, but I think I've gathered enough about your character now. You're loyal but not patient enough to be Hufflepuff, you do have an incredible mind, great memory. I do see determination but I think I've gathered your idea of Slytherin. Don't interrupt me again!" it snapped just as Rose had opened her mouth. "You're going to be difficult, I can tell. You have brains, determination, ambition, impatience, and daring, a perfect recipe for trouble. But yes, you are brave therefore I will place you in-"

"Gryffindor!"

She heard the hat yell out loud this time. There was a great round of applause as the hat was lifted back off her head, and she made her way back toward the Gryffindor table where she was greeted by slaps on the back and people rubbing her head, and all her cousins cheering even including James' greetings, though they were half-hearted, he was still looking at the Slytherin table.

"Your sorting was the longest of us all!" yelled Fred over the noise.

"The hat was wrong about what?"

She was not pleased about where she ended up, nor was she displeased, she simply sat with her arms crossed thinking about her conversation. She wasn't done with that stupid hat. She would have given it a piece of her mind if it hadn't just been staring straight into it. And who was he, well, it, to think have gathered her idea of Slytherin, she was not prejudice, she wasn't!

 _I'm Not!_

The sorting was nearly finished,

"Zimmons, Poynt!" Became the last,

"Hufflepuff!"

And Professor Dalbert rolled up the parchment and walked to a random chair at the teachers table.

An elderly wizard was sitting in a throne like chair at the middle of the teachers table. Rose knew him to be Professor Eldric Kemp, the current headmaster of Hogwarts. He had a short brown and grey beard, sparkling eyes, a wide grin, and was wearing robes of splendid indigo.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" He began smiling. He had a rough voice, as if he had smoked a pipe in his youth. His tone however, was light and kind.

"It gives me great joy to see you all here! Every year at the start of term banquet I ask for a moment of silence for the brave witches and wizard who gave their life for our freedom, and for us to be able to come together and learn in peace, without fear of prosecution. So if you will all please stand in memory of them." He bowed his head and everyone else in the hall did the same. After a moment he looked up and said,

"And now if we could give a round of applause for our superb chiefs who've been spending all day preparing the food that you will enjoy tonight." The entire hall erupted in applause. "And lastly," Professor Kemp started, "Don't make yourself sick." And all across the table was the most delicious smelling food that anyone had ever smelled, "Madam Pomfrey, our matron, won't be too happy."

It was the most amazing food Rose had ever tasted. There was roast beef, pork, hot wings, potatoes, bread, stuffing, egg rolls, and anything else in the world that you could think of. Everyone else was stuffing their plates, so Rose started grabbing food as well, though being a bit more cautious about her portion. Everyone else was piling food, but Rose knew that dessert was coming next and wanted to save room. People all around were laughing and talking and telling stories. Everyone except for James.

"Feeling guilty?" Asked Rose.

"I always teased him about it, but I only did it cause I thought that there was no way he'd ever actually be in Slytherin. If I had known, I never would have..." James broke off.

Rose scowled, she felt herself becoming angry.

"You never knew that it was a legitimate fear of his?" She asked coldly. "You never knew how many sleepless nights we spent on those hand mirrors talking? How many times _I_ had to comfort him, that _I_ had to encourage him because his own brother wouldn't? You never knew that Al's nightmares consisted of his own brother telling him that he was going to be evil, telling him that he didn't believe in him, and to go live among the snakes. That in his dreams you would walk away from him into a cloud of red and gold, while he was stuck in a room of death eaters who welcomed him like a brother. That when he lifted his sleeve there was a dark mark? You never knew how many BLOODY times I listened to him telling me about that dream?" She finished hotly.

"It doesn't matter." Said James, "It doesn't matter what I did in a dream because I never did it. I would never tell him to live among snakes."

"Maybe," Said Rose casually, "but you did say that he would turn out like all the other Slytherins, sick and twisted."

"When did I ever-" James began in outrage.

"On the train." Rose replied quickly. James thought for a moment.

"No, I said that to the Malfoy kid." He said finally.

"Does it matter which one you were talking to?" She asked, "There both Slytherins now, and you told your little brother that his house will come out sick and twisted."

"Will you please just let it go." Said James miserably.

"I will let it go," Rose began, "When you tell Al that you were wrong, and when you apologize to Scorpius Malfoy about what you said about him, his house, and his family."

"There's no way in time I'll ever." James relied. "Are you completely dim? Or did you simply forget everything we have ever been told about them? You know, we've had conversation about it. Do you remember when we used to pretend that we were at Hogwarts when Draco was? We would, talk about what we would have said or done to him back then. We would perform fake spells, or make up lies about him to the imaginary teacher. We would pretend that we were bystanders when he was bullying our parents and we would pretend to intervene. Do you not remember any of that? You made up some impressive comebacks too. Were you just playing? Does what Malfoy did mean nothing to you?"

"I'm not dim." She said through clinched teeth. "In fact, I've brightened since then. I am now not so close minded to believe that his son would be just like him. Time can change people James, and whether it succeeded in changing Malfoy since then, I don't know. But Scorpius is a good kid. He is respectful, or respectable for that matter. I will not let what you said to him and Al go until you can open your mind at least an inch and just _think_ for one moment, just use your imagination and think about even the _possibility_ that Malfoys have changed. Al will forgive you. Scorpius, I don't know yet, but I won't until you stop and think, then apologize for you close mindedness."

She looked back up finally to find that most of the Gryffindors around them were listening to their conversation. They all became very awkward and started talking again. James put his head on the table and didn't eat anything.

Rose started to feel bad that their argument had ruined his first night back. But her anger toward him quickly forced any remorse she felt for him, far away. _Stubbornness. S_ he thought, _probably another reason the hat put me in Gryffindor._

After a little while James got up to sit by Dominique and his friend Tyler.

Rose was now sitting across from the three of the Quadruplets. All with blonde hair and brown eyes, bright expressions and slightly crooked teeth.

"So there are four of you?" Asked Rose.

"Nah," Said one of them with a Scottish accent. "There are five, ones a squib."

"Oh, that must have been awful." Rose said.

"Well it was uncomfortable, yeah." Said the third, "I'm Oliver, these are my brothers Owen and Oscar." They held out their hands and Rose shook them.

"And that's our sister Olivia." He said pointing to the Slytherin table. Al and Olivia were sitting next to each other, both looking down at their empty plates and Scorpius had a plate full of food and seemed to be having a one-sided conversation with Al who didn't seem to be listening. There was a moment of silence.

"How do you guys feel about her sorting?" She asked.

"Honestly," Said Owen, "I'm surprised about all our sorting. Both our parents were in Hufflepuff. We thought if Olivia were to be in any other house, it would be Ravenclaw."

Rose turned to see the same girl that had been grossed out by the sorting hat, holding up her gold plate to the light, her nose upturned. She looked in her goblet.

"Germaphobic?" Asked a curly hair second year boy, addressing the girl.

"Everything here is just so dirty." She said placing her goblet down.

"Well you're not very reckless." Said the boy. "How did you make it into Gryffindor anyway?"

The girl was stirring some mashed potatoes questionably.

"Here," Said the boy shoving a crumpet into his mouth and leaning over the table. He took a heaping spoon of potatoes and plopped it heavily onto her plate. "That's how you serve food." He said sitting back down.

She looked highly affronted.

Just then all the food from the table and their golden plates disappeared, and was replaced by an amazing variety of sweets and puddings. The hall went mad and attacked the trays like animals.

Rose looked around at the pearly white, almost transparent ghosts gliding around the room. She hadn't paid them much attention because her mind was too preoccupied with other things but now she was looking around at them in full now. She saw the Gryffindor ghost at the end of the table talking with a seventh year, the Hufflepuff ghost, a fat friar, was happily chatting with a bunch of first years, seemingly giving them advise, the Ravenclaw ghost, the grey lady, was silently floating around the room. There was a tremendous CRASH outside the hall. Apparently Peeves was unpleased about not being allowed at the feast. Professor Kemp nodded to a ghost by his side and the ghost glided silently through the doors before Rose could realize that this was the ghost she knew as the bloody baron. She had been told, that he was the only one at Hogwarts – not including Kemp – that could control Peeves.

"Vladimir Everard?" Said a voice from next to her. A third year was talking to the first year with indigo hair, except it wasn't indigo anymore, it was now yellow hair with a red streak.

"There aren't many Vladimir's in Gryffindor. That's not a name we hear often here." The second year said.

"Probably not." Said Vladimir. "My mom was a Slytherin and my dad was a Hufflepuff. That's not a match you see very often either. My dad'll be interested to find out where I was placed. And I don't go by Vladimir."

"What's with the hair?" Asked the second year.

"I'm one-fourth metamorphmagus." He said through a mouth full of cake. "I can change my appearance, not very well yet though. I thought I'd change my hair for the occasion. See?" and he changed it too red with a gold streak.

"That's awesome." Said the older boy admiringly.

After a lot of talking and storytelling, the food vanished completely this time and Professor Kemp stood up and the hall hushed.

"Before you go to bed," He called out. "I have a few announcements! Our caretaker, Mr. Filch has reminded me to tell you all that magic is not allowed in the corridors between classes, and as always the dark forest is forbidden to all students, as is the willow tree on the grounds because both are very dangerous. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term as always." Rose sat up a little straighter to listen "If you are looking to join the house team or would like any further information please find Madam Hooch. Music auditions will also be held in the second week for anyone who is interested in joining please speak to Professor Flitwick. Now we will sing our school song."

He waved his wand and gold ribbon appeared snake like above them to form words. "Pick any tune you would like," Said Professor Kemp. "One-two-three-"

" _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,_"

The entire room erupted in song.

" _Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot._"

Everyone finished the song differently. It sounded terrible, but yet Rose was laughing. It was perfect.

"Alright!" Called Kemp once the last few students finished their singing. "Prefects! I trust that you will lead the first years into their common room?" A few people from around the room waved. "Goodnight." said Kemp, "Get some shut eye."

A pretty fifth year girl will curly blonde hair and a shiny badge that had a large letter 'P' on it was pinned to her robes, stood up and announced to the Gryffindor table.

"First years! First years follow me! My name is Cian and I will lead you to the Gryffindor common room! Everyone else, I expect you all remember the way back, if not, follow Wilkins!" She gestured to a brown haired boy, also with a prefect badge.

Rose caught a glimpse of Al as she followed Cian out of the great hall. He caught her eye, and she smiled at him. He looked like he wanted to say something to her, but she was pushed with the crowd through the doors.

Cian led them up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall. Rose watched the many portraits on the walls wave at them, some saying words of welcome, others walking through neighboring portraits to follow them. There was a sounds of hurried footsteps and three blurs blundered through the crowd of first years to join Cian. Rose pushed through the crowd, accidentally stepping on the metamorphmagus' toes, to see who the three students were. As she grew closer her eyes landed on a very familiar face, Fred. Fred and the two other boys turned around to face the crowd walking backward with their arms out in welcome.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Fred called beaming. "We will be your guides. May I introduce my posse. Ortho Truette,"

Ortho was a very clean, muscly boy whose hair fell neatly in his smiling face.

"He enjoys laughing at people who likes long walks on the beach and can be caught singing and or, if you're lucky, dancing to bohemian rap. This here is Fritz Nutter,"

Fritz was a small, blonde boy with wide blue eyes.

"He is the smallest fifth year at Hogwarts and is the only one of us who is any good at Herbology. Pop question! Who here is muggle born?"

Four students raised their hand.

"Good, Fritz is too, so if you have any questions, ask him. We have the Miss Cian Garner. She looks innocent with the prefect badge and everything but she's _not!_ So watch out. And I'm Fred Weasley. Pretty much the captain of our Flock."

"He has to battle that position with Roxy." Said Cian.

"Oh yeah. Roxy is the fifth member and my sister so…" he mentioned in an offhand. "She likes to think of herself as the deputy Headmistress of the Flock, though she is only third year. Oh!" he said finally seeing Rose and pointing, making her blush. "That's my little cousin! Her name's Rose Jean Weasley! She likes books and dancing to the Rat Pack in her room when no one is watching. She's new obviously so make her feel welcome and if I hear about anyone being mean to her then you'd better watch out because she has six, no, seven other cousins here watching out for her, alright?"

Rose's face was crimson and she was tempted to cover it as though no will recognize her if she did.

"Anyway, we're your friends, if you need anything come talk to us. Unless your question is about your personal hygiene, then we don't want to hear it."

There were scattered giggles.

"Now Ortho is going to have a word about the staircases."

"Right, now!" said Ortho. "Look up!"

Everyone peered upward to see a sea of stairs above them, some along the walls, others running horizontally across. Two of the staircases, two flights above them, one about thirteen, moved to change landings as they all watched.

"Unless you're all completely dim, I expect you saw two of them move. There are one-hundred-forty-two staircases at Hogwarts, most of the ones above you can change landing. Watch out for them if you're on a flight while it decides to move. Be smart, because the changing is not random. The staircase will move you to wherever it wants you to go, sometimes it's the right way, sometimes they lead you wrong depending on what mood they're in. But moving staircases isn't all you have to worry about. We also have a plethora of trick steps here. Some that collapse, others that, sink, stink, burn or try to eat your foot if you step in them. Lucky for you, the Flock here, that's us if you haven't already guessed, has taken the liberty of marking each and every trick step. It took many years to find them all, but if you happen to see a step with a yellow stone, jump- over- it! I will now pass the mic over to Fritz. Fritz, tell us what you know about Peeves."

Fritz begun telling them all he knew about the poltergeist and warning the first years against him. He also talked about the ghosts, which ones is okay to talk to, and which ones are not.

He passed it on to Fred who told them about the paintings along the wall and their love to gossip, many of them made noises of protest at this. He told them about the giant squid in the Black Lake and how every month the password to Gryffindor tower is changed unless someone outside of their house learns it before then.

The Flock led them through passageways, secret doors, and up staircases. Finally, they stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady wearing a big pink satin gown.

"Password?" sang the fat lady.

"Pologia-mephmorphis." Said Cian knowingly.

The portrait swung open and she smiled and moved aside to let the first year's clamber in.

Rose felt nervous as she waited in line to enter the portrait hole. She glances over at Fred whispering with Cian, Fritz, and Ortho, and she remembered with an uncomfortable feeling on the inside, that she was actually going to have to make friends. Friends had never been a problem that she had thought of before, she had so many cousins that she thought she wouldn't need them, but looking around now, she realized that her cousins had their own lives and probably wouldn't be too keen on letting their little cousin tag along everywhere they went. Fred and Roxanne were in this group, James had a best friend named Tyler that he was with all last year. Victoire and Dominique would probably let her hang out with their group of other super popular girls, but not without her having to endure their long talks about makeup, haircare and making fun of the boys who followed them around everywhere. Molly would likely be the most willing to allow an unpopular student to join her group, but Rose was uninterested to spend the hours that Molly's friends spend, staring into crystal balls, spending more time in the world beyond than in the mundane. It was amusing how unlike her friends Molly was when she wasn't around them. Al had always been her best friends, but now they were separated for the first time in her life. Bonding with Scorpius and gaining him as a friend seemed pointless now. They would only see each other in passing and perhaps wave or smile, but as time will move on, they will simply become just another face in the throng.

She stepped into the common room and found that it was very cozy and warm. There was a large fire blazing in the fireplace, and a few squashy armchairs were seated in front of it. A large tapestry of a great roaring lion was handing above the great. On one of the walls was a wide painting of a lion against a black canvas, it was pacing back and forth in its frame and roared as the first years walked in. The rest of the room was large, full of couches and tables, everything was very red.

"Alright," Said Cian. "The girl's dormitories is up this staircase and to the right," she said pointing toward a passageway next to the fireplace. "boy's dormitories is the same, but on the left. All Gryffindors must be in their common room by nine-thirty or points will be taken from our house. We do not have a _lights out_ once we're in the common room but I expect all of you to be sensible enough to get to bed at a decent hour. I expect the older students to welcome you home and answer any questions you may have, and if they don't you can ask me or Jack Wilkins. All of your stuff has already been brought to your rooms, including your pets for those of you who brought them. And while we're on the subject of pets, just an FYI, Sam," She pointed at a tall fourth year with blonde hair, "has a tarantula who, all too often, escapes from his box. So if you happen to see a tarantula by your feet, please don't stomp on Stewart. Do you all understand?"

There was an all-around nod from the first years.

"Good," Said Cian, "Hopefully you lot won't have as much troll brains as others before you." She looked around the room at the older students, one of them had a three-foot tongue spilling from their mouth and Roxanne was on her knees laughing hysterically, a few _tongue tongue toffee_ wrappers lay by her feet.

"Three!" Roxanne was saying through hysterics gripping Fred's robes for support. "He took three!"

The crowd of first years dispersed and Rose joined Roxanne.

"Does your dad know you took these?" She asked picking up the toffee wrappers.

"Know?" Roxanne said regaining herself. "He gave both me and Fred an entire skiving snack box."

Rose looked up to see a group of students gathering around her holding out coins. "How much for the toffees?" They were asking. "I want to give some to Filtch."

Rose knew that Filtch was the, insanely old, Hogwarts caretaker who waged war against the students. James had told her many stories about his trouble with Filtch. It was common knowledge to everyone that he was a squib. It was believed by most that, that was why he hated students so much, because he was jealous of them. Almost as bad as him was his many ugly grey cats. His old cat, Mrs. Norris, had died a long time ago and now all of her grandcats wander the castle looking for rule breakers.

Rose felt her robe pocket growing warm. She pulled from it, her silver hand mirror. She had forgotten that she was carrying it despite its weight. Without thinking, she ran up the staircase to her right and down a long hallway to find her dormitory. She knew it was Al and had to speak with him. Each door had numbers starting from seven and working their way down, odd numbers on the left side of the hall, until finally she arrived at the ones. There were four doors with the number one, she scanned the doors which all had names on them until the name, _'Rose Weasley'_ showed up on the door at the very end of the passageway. The mirror was becoming hot now. She swung the door open and shut it behind her, now juggling the mirror, and plopped herself down in an armchair by the window. She waved her hand across the glass of the very hot mirror, it rippled and Al's face appeared on it.

"Al?" Said Rose. "How are you? Are you alright?"

"I don't know." He said. "Rose it happened, Rose I'm a Slytherin." And he held up a green tie with silver stripes.

"Okay, what did the hat say to you?" She asked.

"Well, it was talking about proving myself, not giving up, being strong and hardworking. For a moment I thought it was going to put me in Hufflepuff. It gave me different reasons why I would be good in different houses. But during the last minute it just thought and talked to itself, as if it was trying to convince itself of something. It kept saying things like _interesting, curious, well that's odd, an odd case, well I suppose_. But then right before it called out my house, it said to me, _be strong, I know what I'm doing._ " Al finished with a trembling voice. There was a silence.

"So this defiantly wasn't a mistake?" Rose said.

"How's James taking it?" Asked Al to Rose's surprise.

"Not well." Rose replied. "We got into a bit of an argument so we're not on speaking terms at the moment."

"Rose." Said Al in the same tone that her mom used when she was trying to reason with her. "James is probably having a harder time with this than I am. You need to be there for him." Rose looked away.

She was still angry with him.

"Who are you rooming with?" She asked trying to take the attention back off of herself.

"Scorpius!" He said excitedly. "He's been real helpful so far. Also someone called Alac Mishpetsie, Ethan Holac, and Quin Bryan. You?"

"Umm," She got up and opened her door to read the list on the outside. "There's a Pamela Potent, Danielle Daniels, Alexis Micherl, and, oh I can't pronounce that, I think it's... Sydrick-wolfred-marybeth... I think, Sydrickwolfredmarybeth Pye... wow, that poor girl."

"I wanna see your room." said Al. "Dads told me about it. Does it really have a view of the mountains?" Rose walked over to the window.

"Umm, no. I see the Black Lake. Maybe the view is different for the boys. But look." She faced the mirror opposite from herself. "See, there are five beds, two armchairs, umm, one table – oh, no two tables – red curtains, I think I like this bed best," And she took her robe off to place it on the bed closest to the window. "... let's see," She walked to the bathroom and swung the door open. "Oh! This is actually pretty nice." There were four stalls, two showers, two sinks, and one long counter top and mirror.

"What's your view?" She asked turning the mirror back to herself. Al's face split into a grin.

"Okay, this is kinda cool." He said facing the mirror to the window. "We're under the Black Lake!"

"No way!" Rose said amazed. She saw the murky green of the lake from the window. Then she saw a great shadow pass the window. "Is that?"

"Yep." Said Al. "The giant squid! That's why everything in the Slytherin common room looks green. Because of the lake. Yes, I wish it was a bit brighter, but everything is dark because we don't get any sunlight and everything is light by torches."

He turned the mirror around to show the rest of the room. There were five beds, all in different spots than the Gryffindors, two green and black satin lounge chairs, the floor seemed to be made of marble, in the center of the room was a small fountain which bore four serpents back to back spurting water from their mouths. The walls were smooth stone and on one side of the room were three very large windows that took up most of the wall, through them, she could see the lake ground, heavy emerald drapes were cast beside each window, torches were light all around the room, above on the ceiling was a silver chandler, there were five dresser drawers and the water from outside gave the room a cool sort of ghostly ripple that was reflected on the floor. The Slytherin dormitory wasn't an any way cozy or warm looking, but it was magnificently elegant.

The door swung open and Rose saw Scorpius walk in.

"There you are," He said, "I was looking for you. Whoa, would you look at this place." he was looking around the room. "Dad did say that it would be- what's that?"

He asked looking at the mirror in Al's hand.

"Is that Rose? Why do you have a picture of her on that mirror? That's not the best picture though," He continued, "Her hair is kinda all over the place and from this angle she kinds looks dead."

"Hi Scorpius..." Said Rose.

"Oh! That's not..."

Al turned over laughing.

"No Scorpius, this is not a picture."

"Oh... well, that's a really cool mirror."

Rose heard footsteps coming toward her door.

"Alright I should go, someone's coming." She said. "Goodnight Al. You too Scorpius."

Both boys smiled and the mirror showed her own reflection again.

 _I do look dead from this angle_. She thought.

She smiled thinking about Al and was just glad that he wasn't crying in a corner. And at this moment was so thankful for Scorpius and that they had met him. Without him, Al really would have no one. She would never judge someone without knowing them again. A promise that she was ashamed to know, would be impossible to keep.

The door swung open and two girls walked in. One of them had long straight black hair and bright blue eyes, the other curly brown hair and green eyes Rose recognized this girl as the germaphobe. They stopped when they saw Rose.

"Oh, hello." Said the brown headed one. But the blue eyed girl wasted no time in grasping Rose's hand and shaking it enthusiastically.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you! My name is the one that no one can pronounce."

"Oh," Said Rose, "Your Sydrick-wolllll-"

"-wolfredmarybeth." Finished the girl. "I know it's weird, Sydrick was my dad, Wolfred was my grandad, Mary was my mom, and Beth was my third cousins best friend, but you guys can call me Mary."

"I'm Alexis." Said the other girl.

"Hi, I'm Rose Granger-Weasley." She said.

Mary gaped at her,

"You mean like the Weasley? Like Ron Weasley?"

"Yeah," Said Rose. "He's my dad."

"Really?" Asked Mary in awe.

"Must be." Said Alexis. "Look at her hair, it only makes sense. But that would mean Hermione Granger is your mom. She was a huge role model for me. I'm muggle born too, parents are doctors, and I have looked up to her. I've never thrown away one of her chocolate frog cards, I only have three, from the train, but I'll never throw one away."

The door swung open again to revel a girl with straight blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She walked in confidently and threw her robes off and onto an empty bed, then she spun around abruptly and shot her hand out in front of her facing the other girls. Rose had to take a few steps to reach it. As soon as she grasped the girls hand, the girl spoke.

"My name is Pamela. And you all?"

"Oh," Said Rose and she released the girl's hand. "My name is Rose, and this is Mary and Alexis."

The last girl walked into the room.

"And this must be Danielle."

They talked for a bit, not about anything important, then after choosing their beds, were eager to sleep. Rose opened her pamphlet again before blowing out her candle. The second page bore information on introducing themselves to your future roommates, unpacking techniques, how to pick a bed, and how to keep from snoring, all of which advise, Rose didn't feel like trying. She folded the pamphlet, placed it in her bedside drawer, and blew out her candle, listening to the now heavy rain hit the roof and she wondered if Al could hear it too.


	4. Hagrid's Visit

**R** ose woke feeling ruffled, it had taken a while for her to get to sleep the previous night. One of the reasons being Mary's snoring. Rose walked to the window to see what time it was; her wrist watch was still glitching. The sky was a dull blue, the sun had not yet risen, but there was a streak of red from behind the mountains across the lake from where the sun was.

Knowing that Al was an early riser, she decided to head to breakfast early, she had to see him. She pulled on her Hogwarts robes and when grabbing her tie, she noticed a slip of paper on her bedside cabinet that hadn't been there before. When picking it up, she saw that it was a map to the basics of the castle and wouldn't voice how thankful she was for it.

With map in hand, she quickly found her way back to the oak front doors and into the Great Hall. To her surprise, the room was completely empty, so she took her seat at the Gryffindor table, hoping that she wasn't too early. Rose began scratching at a drawing that had been carved into the wood table. There were many, some were small one words carvings, like a name, others were four inch notes and some were drawings. Rose was especially interested in a bit of sloppy writing that said,

 _"_ _Abigail, if you're reading this, Jack had a huge crush on you._

 _-Sincerely, Wingman."_

She smiled slightly but positively jumped when a voice sounded behind her.

"Not carving into the tables are we?"

It was Professor Kemp.

"Oh! Oh no Professor." Rose stammered.

Kemp took a seat on the bench beside her.

"Ah, far too often, Hogwarts is vandalized, by me as well to be honest. I have a nasty habit of doodling on our surfaces when I get bored. Of course I have to erase it as soon as I realize what I'm doing, Professor Donima would be out for my blood. _Takes away a bit of the natural beauty_ , she says." Kemp pulled out his wand and waved it lazily above the writing which disappeared instantly. He stopped above the message that Rose had been looking at.

"Huh," he gave a small chuckle. "I think I'll leave that one there actually."

He looked over at Rose and extended his hand happily.

"My name is, Kemp."

"Yes, I know." he responded, grasping his hand.

"Forgive me for not remembering your name, I have a terrible habit of doing that, forgetting names, quite inconvenient being in my position believe me."

"Oh, that's alright Professor, it's Weasley, well, Granger-Weasley."

He laughed slightly.

"And your first?"

"Rose?" There really was no need for him to know her first name, Professors never used them.

"Ah, nice to meet you Rose Granger-Weasley, I am Eldric Goofbi Kemp."

Rose tried to conceal a smile.

"Yes, I know." said Kemp. "I used to think that my parents hated me, until I realized that if they really did, they would have made my first name Goofbi. Well, I best leave, I just remembered that I had forgotten to feed my fish."

Kemp swung his legs over the bench which was quite a funny sight, him being in such long robes. Rose suddenly remembered and called out to him as he was adjusting his hat.

"Sir? My watch, it's not working."

Kemp peered over at her and slipped on a pair of round glasses from his front pocket.

"Hmm," he said. "Well your watch isn't working because of the magical disturbance." he replied.

"But sir?" Rose tried. "I grew up in a magical family, my whole house is magical, why hasn't it done this before?"

"Well you're in a building with about 98 times more magic than your house; this watch runs on a muggle battery. But don't worry, there is a simple spell that'll fix this, I just have to take it to my office to remove its innards and I'll bring it right back to you, how's that?"

Rose removed her watch and handed it to him, he winked and said,

"Good morning." as he walked away.

There was a sudden stomping noise from behind her and she spun around to find Scorpius and Al emerging from a passage way out of breath and collapsing onto their knees and clutching a stitch in their chest.

"Rose!" Cried Al looking up finally.

She got to her feet and ran to them.

"Al!" She said embracing him. "Scorpius!" She said, also embracing him in a group hug. "I knew Al normally woke up early. I figured he'd come down early too." She took a seat at the Slytherin table with Scorpius and Al.

"How'd you both sleep?" She asked, mainly to Al though.

"Oh I slept great!" Said Al. "Once we did get to sleep, we were up half the night. You?"

"Oh it was fine once I did get to sleep. This girl named Mary wouldn't shut up! She's nice enough but my god!"

The table suddenly and finally bore all kinds of food before them, bacon, grits, toast, eggs and corn flakes. Goblets also appeared with pints of pumpkin juice. Rose was starving. They all dug in talking. A few Slytherins looked confused to see Rose at their table when they emerged, but sat anyway.

"Why were you guys so out of breath?" Rose asked curiously before taking a bite of bread.

"Augh," Scorpius groaned. "There are like fifteen staircases leading up here."

"Rose?" Said Al. "You don't even have a bird." He pulled from her red hair a large brown feather.

"Ugh!" Said Rose, "Mary's owl! She refuses to lock it up and its seemed to have bonded with me!" Scorpius let out a laugh. "No, I'm serious! It slept on my pillow half the night nibbling on my hair! I finally had to throw it out the window."

This was true. She had asked and asked Mary to put that owl in its cage or at least send it to the owlery, but she kept refusing.

" _But he'll be all sad, just look at that face."_ She had cooed.

Of course it looked cute to her, it wasn't two inches from _her_ face all night smelling like dead rats and soggy rags. But she had thrown it from the window around two in the morning when it had decided to sleep on her face. One of the reasons Rose was eager to get up early, she wasn't keen on explaining to Mary where her owl was.

"There's another one." Said Scorpius reaching across the table and pulling another smaller feather from her hair.

"Does this bird mulch badly?" Al asked pulling yet another feather from her hair.

The rest of breakfast was spent with Scorpius and Al de-feathering Rose and cracking stupid jokes about it.

A little while later their conversation was interrupted by a loud screeching and hundreds of owls began swooping down from the high window. Packages and letters fell from the sky in front of whoever they were addressed to. That's how mail was delivered in the Wizarding world, via owl post.

A letter fell in front of Rose and Al, and small package landed in front of Scorpius. He tore it open quickly.

"Another daylight dali?" He said, pulling a wrist watch whose face was bright blue.

He took a note from the inside of the paper,

 _"I'm not sure whether or not your father gave you one yet. So here you go just in case. Congratulations on making it into Slytherin sweetheart,_

 _Love, Mommy."_

 _"_ Oh." Said Scorpius, slipping the note into his pocket. "You can have this one Al. Seeing I've already got one." Al took the watch.

"Thanks..." He said.

"What's a daylight dali?" Rose asked.

"It's a type of watch that reflects the color of the sky outside on its face." said Scorpius. "It's a way of knowing the time from in our common room. Wrist watches don't work well here."

"There's a simple spell that can be used to fix wrist watches." said Rose.

"Really? what?" asked Scorpius.

"I don't know." she answered.

"Great witch you are." came a cold voice, it was Poppy, she was sitting a way away and looking ruffled. "No idea why you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw with a mind like yours. Can't see why you were put in a house that has the brains equivalent of a troll." She looked at Scorpius as if daring him to stand up for her.

"Shove off, Parkinson!" said Scorpius anyway.

Poppy raised her eyebrows and seemed to decide something about him and by the looks on her face, it wasn't good.

"A friend of a blood traitor is no better themselves." she said mutinously. "Ow!" something hard hit her in the back of the head that ended up being a grape, but none of them had thrown it. When Rose turned around, she saw Fred walking pass the Slytherin table with a wide eyed, innocent look on his face and his hands folded in front of him neatly.

"How did your mom know that you were in Slytherin?" Al said, seemingly unaware of what had just happened.

"The school sends an owl to each student's house, telling them the results of the sorting." Rose answered. "Mom told me."

"So that means..." He looked down at his letter.

"Oh come on Al." Said Scorpius. "Open it. They can't be upset at you."

Al tore open the letter cautiously and discovered his mother's neat handwriting.

" _Hello James-_

"James?" Said Al turning the letter over. "Oh, this isn't addressed to me." He looked up and saw his brother holding up a letter for Al to see.

Al stood up and made his way to the Gryffindor table, still holding the wrong letter.

Rose watched, now having to stand up to see over the head of a Slytherin boy who had just sat in front of her.

She watched as Al handed the letter to James, and they began to talk. It wasn't a long conversation, but she did see James gesture angrily toward her. So this was now about herself. Al had the last word and turned looking glum.

He walked back to the Slytherin table and sat beside Scorpius.

The letter that James had exchanged was written in black ink, and this time said,

 _"Good morning, Albus,_

 _I miss you already, Lily misses you most probably. She keeps saying, "I want Al." She burst into tears yesterday after we got home because she remembered that you wouldn't be there to tell her your stories at night._

 _I know you're going to be an incredible wizard; you have your mom's natural talent for charms. I thought about when you made that toad tap dance for Lily on her birthday last year, and without a wand. Hopefully you'll be better at potions than either of us were though. But no pressure._

 _I know you'll be great! You've always had so much determination and strong will._

 _But I need you to be strong. Send me and your mom an owl whenever you get a chance, I want to know how your first day went. -Dad"_

Al starred at the letter for a little while.

"Are you sure our parents get an owl the night of?" He asked Rose.

"That's what I was told." She replied. "And obviously Scorpius' mom knew. Why?"

"Well, dad didn't mention anything about my being in Slytherin."

"Well maybe it's not a big deal to him." Suggested Scorpius.

They decided that since it was Saturday and they had no classes or homework, that they should visit Hagrid. They had to explain to Scorpius who Hagrid was on the way to the grounds.

It was a warm, sort of pleasant day. Their cloaks however, made them hot. They arrived at the top of a hill and looked down. Hagrid's cabin was very small at the bottom of a very large hill and was located aside the forbidden forest.

So they began their decline and arrived at the cabin fifteen minutes later.

Al knocked on the door. But no one answered. He knocked again, still no answer.

"Well he wasn't expecting us today." Said Rose. "He may not be here."

Al looked around the grounds to see if he was working.

"The doors unlocked." Said Scorpius pushing the door open.

"Isn't that breaking and entering?" Rose asked.

"Not unless I enter- oh what's this?" he took an exaggerated step into the cabin. "Oh! Did I just break the law?"

"I see why you're in Slytherin." said Rose also stepping into the cabin.

"The door was unlocked." said Al. "He was obviously not too worried if people entered."

"Who would want to enter?" Rose said shutting the door. "I mean have you seen him? He could snap your neck with his two fingers."

Scorpius gave a nervous sort of laugh. "But he won't want to, right?"

"Oh no." said Rose. "He's really just a big teddy bear, well, most of the time."

Rose had never been in Hagrid's home before, but now that she looked around, she noticed how truly small it was. It was a one room cabin with a ginormous bed in one corner and a fireplace in the other. Sun shone through the windows which illuminated the dusty floor.

"Not much of a house keeper is he?" said Scorpius moving a gigantic coat from the huge armchair so he could sit.

"Just because your bedroom floor is probably clean enough to eat off of doesn't mean everyone else's is." said Rose distracted by shiny rocks in a sack handing from the ceiling.

"Hey, it's not clean because I want it to." Scorpius shrugged.

"Awe, does your mommy do it for you?" Rose teased.

"No, we have elves."

"We might as well stay till he gets back." Suggested Al.

Rose and Scorpius took to sitting in a great armchair big enough for both of them. Al however, busied himself with tea. In a moment they were sitting in the armchair, Al on the arm, drinking tea and discussing various items at Hagrid's. Time passed, and still he wasn't there. They had run out of topics from things hanging from his ceiling and were getting board.

"We should go look for him." Said Rose after about an hour.

They agreed, and stepped out back onto the grounds to march away from the cabin beginning their trip.

All the way around to the greenhouses. There were four very large ones. Al peered into greenhouse four, and spotted the back of the Herbology Professor Longbottom having a furious fight with a giant red, spiky plant that looked like it was trying to grab the Professor.

"It's probably best to leave them at it." Said Scorpius grabbing Al's arm and taking him away from the window, which was a good thing because just then, a long red vine smashed through the window right where he had been standing.

They went around the Black Lake and got distracted by the beautifully flat stones and spent about an hour and a half skipping them along the bank. Rose and Al tried to teach Scorpius who had never done it before. He finally made a triple skip and it was when they pushed Al into the water that they remembered that they were looking for Hagrid.

They ended up at a dead end and stood in front of an old stone wall covered in vines. So they made their way back to Hagrid's in hope that he might have returned by now.

But still, he was absent. So they took to looking around his gardens. Scorpius stopped in front of the forest, trying to see inside.

"What do you thinks in there anyway?" He asked.

Rose and Al joined him.

"Centaurs," Said Al. "Unicorn, thestrals, werewolves maybe."

"And acromantula." Rose reminded him.

"Oh yeah, there's that too. And there may be a wild Ford Angular somewhere in there."

"Well if that's the case," Said Scorpius, "I understand why it's forbidden."

Scorpius suddenly had a small smile.

"How far do you think I can make it?" He asked slyly.

"Make what?" Asked Rose Suspiciously.

Scorpius took a few steps forward, then one large step into the forest.

"Scorpius!" Barked Rose turning around to see if anyone were watching. "Get out of there!"

"Oh come on Rose." Scorpius pleaded. "I'm bored! It's just a step. I can't get I trouble for this."

"Al, tell him he's being ridiculous!" Rose demanded. "Al!"

Al had just walked forward, and took one step past Scorpius.

"Come on Rose!" Said Al. "It's not far. Don't you wanna say you've been in here?"

"It's Forbidden!" She scolded.

"Are you scared?" asked Al.

"No I'm not." she said stubbornly, "I simply don't want to get into trouble before classes have even started."

"And you're a Gryffindor." Said Scorpius, "Please, can't even manage a step."

Rose knew they were trying to push her buttons. But even so, she walked forward and into the forest. The boys smiled as if they had convinced her but frowned whenever she grabbed them both by their green and silver ties and pulled them out.

"Ow, Rose!" Said Scorpius fixing his tie.

"Really, Rosie," Said Al. "You're just like your mom."

"Good!" She said. "She had some sense. You're both so stupid."

"What'r yeh lot doin' here?" Came a booming voice from behind them.

Scorpius and Al spun around. It was Hagrid, coming toward them from the forest.

"Yeh weren't thinkin' bout goin in there were yeh?" He asked.

"No." Said Rose quickly with an angry glance at Scorpius and Al. "Hagrid where were you? We've been looking for ages."

"I've been on a walk with Grawp."

Rose knew that Grawp was Hagrid's, full giant, half-brother.

"Ohh!" Said Al. "Can we visit him?"

"Uhhh, No." Said Hagrid. "He's just retired to his cave."

"Hagrid?" Said Rose. "Why don't you just build Grawp a house beside your's?"

"I did." Hagrid replied. "But he didn't like it much. Preferred his cave. So we took it down. How 'bout comin in for a cup of tea."

They all entered his cabin, which was made more cramped now that Hagrid joined them. In a moment they had resumed their original seats with more tea and some treacle fudge.

"Hagrid sends fudge every Christmas." Rose whispered to Scorpius. "You have to suck on it a bit before you try to chew." she said right as he stuck a piece in his mouth. "Otherwise it'll glue your jaw shut."

"Too late..." Murmured Scorpius through clinched teeth.

Al choked a little bit on his tea.

"So who's this?" Asked Hagrid addressing Scorpius.

Scorpius looked up, still unable to talk through a locked jaw.

"This is Scorpius Malfoy." Answered Al.

"So you made friends with a Malfoy?" Said Hagrid amused. "Quite unlike your parents before yeh. But I can't say I'm as surprised now as I was at the sorting. Albus Potter a Slytherin." He turned back toward Scorpius,

"Firs' year at Hogwarts I see. How'r yeh enjoying it?"

Scorpius, mouth still stuck, gave a thumbs up.

"A lot quieter than yer dad aren't you?"

Scorpius gave an unconvincing smile and nod. Apparently the fudge was really starting to hurt.

"Oh," Said Al. "No, he just ate to much fudge."

"Awe," Said Hagrid knowingly. "Good isn't it? I wouldn't eat too much tho, It's a bit heavy on the stomach." He patted his great belly with a chuckle.

"No, Hagrid," Al tried again. "no, I mean his jaws are stuck together."

"You're supposed to suck on it first. Didn't yeh know?" Hagrid replied.

"No..." Scorpius muttered flatly.

"Hagrid, can't you unstick it?" Asked Rose.

"Well I can, of course I can," Hagrid replied. "but I can't guarantee some of his teeth won't come out with the fudge."

Scorpius quickly shook his head from side to side.

A little while later the conversation was skiing across the subject of Hagrid's past injuries with magical beasts when a loud,

"DEAR MOTHER OF MERLIN!" Broke Hagrid's detailed description of a particular gruesome burn he had gotten from a skrewt.

Scorpius was holding his mouth, red faced. He lowered his hands to say,

"Unstuck."

Albus and Rose roared with laughter.

About another hour later the sky was growing dark, and they decided to set off when Hagrid offered to make them dinner, but not before promise to visit him Friday after James had left; they had told Hagrid about their dispute.

"What I don't understand," Panted Scorpius as they made their way back up the steep hill toward the castle, "is how in the world Hagrid manages to hike up and down this mountain multiple times a day."

"Longer legs?" Suggested Rose, also panting.

They had missed dinner, which Rose and Al were bummed about, but Scorpius seemed pleased considering they were having fish and he hated seafood. But they did make it for dessert, which was delicious. They headed to the owlery with the letters that they had written to their families during dessert.

The owlery was in a tower quite far from where they were. It had hundreds of owls all nestled tightly on a perch across the walls. The floor was covered in owl droppings and the place smelled awful. They each chose an owl, tied their letters onto the bird's leg, and threw it from the window. Al and Rose's owls took flight beside each other, Scorpius' took in the opposite direction.

Scorpius' owl had flown many miles, and into the morning. Finally arriving at a large house to _'peck, peck, peck._ ' at the living room window. A pretty brunette woman slid the door open, removed the letter, and stroked the bird's feathers before it flew off.

She opened the letter, read it, and smiled.

"Draco, dear!" She called walking into the dining room where her husband was sitting, doing paperwork.

"Yes?" He replied not looking up.

"Scorpius wrote us."

Her husband looked at the letter in her hand.

"I think you'll find it interesting."

She handed him the letter which he opened and began to read.

" _Dear mom and dad,_

 _I really like Hogwarts so far, of course I haven't had any classes yet._

 _I really like our Slytherin common room, though, the marble floors are very cold in the morning. I have to put on my shoes before I step out of bed and I do wish everything wasn't so dark._

 _Thank for the daylight dali too, you're right I can't see a thing down here._

 _I think you'd be pleased to know I've made a couple friends, ones a Gryffindor which I think is kind of funny._

 _I met both Albus Potter and Rose Weasley on the Hogwarts express._

 _They are really good friends. Since there was no class today, the three of us explored the grounds. Dad, they taught me how to skip stones! I made a triple skip! I can show you when I get home._

 _We spent the rest of the day with Professor Hagrid. He's nice, but not the best cook. His fudge made my teeth stick together, I had a job getting them back open._

 _I think we're probably going to explore the castle tomorrow, Albus was telling me about a secret room called 'the room of requirement' I really want to visit._

 _We missed supper in the great hall which was fine because they were having fish and of course you know I'm allergic._

 _Anyway I miss you both. Oh! And I think you'd also be interested to learn that Albus Potter was sorted into Slytherin. A Potter in Slytherin._

 _-Scorpius_ _._ _"_

Draco put the letter down and looked at his wife.

"What in the name of-"

But many miles away, Al's dark haired, scared forehead, glasses wearing dad and pretty red haired mom were bending over the other letter; both with blank expressions.

"Ginny dear?" Said her husband not removing his eyes from the letter.

"Yes?" She replied still gazing at the note.

"Do you think we should tell Ron?"

"No." She replied.

"Let Rosie tell him?" He asked.

"Yup..."

They looked at each other and began to laugh.

Rose however, never let Scorpius or Al see her letter as she was writing it, because it bore no mention of Scorpius at all. She was not ashamed in any way about being friends with him, but she was not sure that her dad would take very kindly to the prospect so early.


	5. Vladimir D'artagnan Everard

**R** ose woke the next morning painfully. She turned in her four poster bed to see what that stabbing pain was. And on her pillow was Mary's bloody owl! Rose stood up angrily, grabbed the owl, and threw it out the window where it screeched indignity and flew away.

Rose moved the sleeve of her nightshirt to see if the owl bite was bleeding.

"Better not let Mary see you do that." Said a tired voice. It was Alexis. "She won't like it much."

"I don't give a crap what Mary thinks." Said Rose angrily. "If she refuses to lock that bird away she shouldn't expect anything less than for someone to throw it from a window. It's already seven, I'm going for breakfast."

And she slipped on her uniform, brushed her hair and teeth and made for the great hall.

She got there to find the great hall already quite full of students. But there was no sign of Al or Scorpius at the Slytherin table.

So she joined her other classmates with the Gryffindors.

She looked up to see Vladimir, the metamorphmagus Gryffindor, across from her.

"You know my cousin is half metamorphmagus." She said addressing the boy, whose hair was a violent shade of orange.

"Yeah?" He replied looking up, and she noticed that he had purple eyes and small freckles across his nose. "What can he do?"

"Everything." She responded slightly confused, "Can't you?"

"I have trouble changing my height." He said through a mouth full of toast. "I'm Darren." And he stretched out a hand.

"I thought your name was Vladimir." She said confusedly gripping his hand.

"Oh, well it is. But I go by Darren. My middle name is D'artagnan, see? And I prefer it, though nobody uses that name, Darren's shorter, but you can call me Maddox if you want. . . Some people call me Magus, but please don't."

"Why do people call you Magus?" she asked finally releasing her hand from that extensive shack.

"Because they're stupid." he said tearing apart his bacon. She continued watching him until he looked back up. "Metamorph- _Magus."_ he enlightened.

"Wait, I'm confused." said Rose dropping a biscuit that she had been buttering. "Am I calling you Vladimir, D'artagnan, Darren, or Maddox? Cause I can't call Magus. And where the heck did Maddox come from?"

He dropped his bacon and closed his eyes seemingly getting ready for something.

"Okay, my name is Vladimir D'artagnan Everard. My entire life I've been called Maddox by the other kids in town because I look like that bass player _Maddox_ from the band _Hallows Hoot_ who also has indigo hair, which is the color I normally go with. I don't like being called Vladimir because it was my granddad's name who I absolutely hated. I am called Darren by the old people in town who know my name isn't _actually_ Maddox. I am only called Everard by teachers. So to narrow it down, you can call me Maddox, or Darren."

Rose nodded slowly and began buttering her biscuit again.

A moment later he said,

"Are you gonna tell me your name?"

"Oh, I'm Rose Granger-Weasley." She smiled. Her surname was Weasley, but she preferred using both of her parents last names to connect herself clearly to both Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah?" His hair turned her same shade of red. She laughed. "So you're the prodigy of both Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger?"

"Yeah." She smiled again, happy to be noticed as their daughter.

"Must be hard."

"Why?"

"Well, they left quite a mark, to be involved closely in the demise of Voldemort and so closely involved with Harry Potter. I would assume that people would expect you to live up to them. You know? Fill their shoes."

"I haven't gotten that much attention so far." She said. "A few of the girls in my dormitory noticed who my parents were but didn't treat me oddly at all."

"Well that's good. So that would mean that you're close to Albus Potter? He was sorted into Slytherin, right?"

"He was… And yes we're close. We're related after all."

"How so?"

"My dad's sister married Harry so that makes Al and me cousins."

"Did she?" he said in surprise. "I never really looked it up. How do you feel about the sorting then? I'd expect it's probably hard for him?"

"I don't know, he's made a friend, Slytherins not all bad."

"But he's Harry's son…"

"He's Albus Potter…" she said slowly. "Harry just happens to be his dad."

"I couldn't imagine, having to live up to him." He shook his head.

"I heard a few remarks on the train about his being at Hogwarts, but other than that, he hasn't gotten that much attention."

"He had an older brother, right?"

"Yeah, James." She pointed at James who was, at the moment, balancing a spoon on his nose.

"That's good. What I think is most likely, is that James there, paved the way for Albus, unknowingly. He broke the _Potter comes to Hogwarts_ ice. He likes attention?"

"Oh yeah!" she laughed.

"That's a perfect set up then. Are you still gonna hang out with your cousin? Now that he's in Slytherin I mean."

"Of course I am." She said slightly affronted on Al's behalf.

"It's just, one of the boys in my dormitory told me that we shouldn't become friendly with Slytherins."

"Yeah," Said Rose flatly. "A lot of people seem to have that idea. I heard you say at the start of term banquet that your mom was a Slytherin."

"Yeah, she was." He replied. "I'm not prejudice, no, I was just wondering, because the other first year Gryffindors don't seem too fond of them. I just didn't know whether to be at all cautious, my mom wasn't one of the sweetest people in the world."

"Wasn't?" Asked Rose.

"Yeah she, it's not a big deal, it's just, she was a horrible person who isn't around now and my life is better because of it." he said this casually without looking up.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Said Rose becoming awkward.

"Nah," He said brushing his mostly curly hair from his face, and Rose noticed that he also had pointed ears.

"My family is more complicated than you could imagine, if you apologize for everything that has gone wrong in it, you'd be apologizing for a very long time. " he stopped playing with his bacon and his face went slightly red as if he had said something that he hadn't meant to. "And here I am giving my life story to a complete stranger."

"We're not strangers." she said, "I'm Rose, and you're Vladimir D'artagnan Everard."

"I swear I never talk about myself this much." he said, trying to assure her.

"That's alright, I don't mind. What's the accent?"

"I'm Norwegian."

"Oh." She said slightly surprised. "I didn't get the Netherlands at all."

"I live in Ireland now." He said. "Since I was six, that's probably what you detect. My dad and I moved to Britain for the school year, but are going back home for the summer."

"So you speak Norwegian?"

"Only to dad, that's his first language, but I sound Irish. I developed speech in Norwegian but phonology in Ireland so…" he shrugged and took a swig of pumpkin juice.

A moment later, there was a rush of footsteps behind her, and Al and Scorpius sat beside her at the Gryffindor table.

"What took you guys so long?" She asked as the boys started gobbling up eggs with wet hair.

"Scorpius was hogging the showers." Said Al.

"Why didn't you use the other one, Al?" She asked.

"The boy's dormitories only have one shower." Scorpius replied. "It seems they think we don't bathe as often."

"Alright. This is Max... Can I call you that?" Asked Rose.

"Sure." He shrugged. "I'll add it to the list."

"Well this is Scorpius, and my cousin Al." Rose told Max.

He reached out a hand and shook theirs.

"Why do all the red heads seem to be in Gryffindor?" Asked Scorpius.

"I'm not really a red head." He said, turning his hair back to orange.

"Oh," Said Al. "You're a metamorphmagus, my cousin's one of those."

"Look, Rose," Said Scorpius moving closer, "I really want to see the room of requirement, but Al doesn't remember how to get in."

"You walk past the wall on the seventh floor across from the picture of that dude getting beat up by trolls, three times, thinking hard of what you need, and it'll open." Said Maddox not looking up from his newspaper.

The three just stared at him. He looked up.

"What? My dad was a Hufflepuff, he knew most of the castles secrets. But you shouldn't spend too much time in the room of requirement. I can show you something real interesting after I finish the paper."

A spark of curiosity sunk into Rose. And with a look at Scor and Al, they had it too.

"What interesting thing?" Asked Rose curiously.

But he didn't answer. He did however, reveal a small smirk on his face.

A few minutes later he dropped the newspaper, _The Daily Prophet_ on the table and said,

"Alright come on." He swung his red and gold tie over his shoulder and got up from the table confidently, Scor, Rose, and Al followed.

He led them out the oak front doors and onto the grounds. They walked for a while, Maddox still not talking. Rose was starting to think that this wasn't such a good idea. She had just met him, and now she was allowing him to lead her mysteriously away from the castle. But then she thought. _He's still only in first year, what can he really do?_ Sure he was a fair few inches taller than her, but he was rather skinny, and Scor, Al, and herself would have no problem against him.

They stopped in front of the same ivy covered stone wall that they had come to the day before when they had been looking for Hagrid.

"Where are you supposed to be bringing us?" Al asked.

Max looked at the wall intently for a moment, then said,

"Alright guys, start looking for a knob or handle or something behind the ivy."

They all started feeling across the wall.

"My dad told me he could see it from his dormitory window." He said.

"See what from his window? Maddox where are you taking us?" Rose asked.

"Oh!" Said Scorpius, "I think! Yup!"

Max ran over there and brushed the ivy away to reveal an old, curly, crooked handle.

" _Alohormora_!" He said pointing his wand at the lock on the curly handle.

With a loud click, and with the other three's help to pull the squeaky door over the overgrown grass, it was swung open, and Max moved away. Looking through the door, Rose saw the most beautiful, peaceful, and quite literally, magical garden she had ever seen. House elves were all around the garden, sorting through vegetables.

House elves are waist tall, big eared, slightly ugly creatures that serve as slaves for large mansions or buildings. Rose's mom had worked temporally in the, _'Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures'_ office at the Ministry of Magic. She had fought for the rights of house elves, trying to get them proper wages for their work. But her mom had told her that the house elves at Hogwarts had refused such benefits.

"When did you find this?" Asked Rose in awe.

"Just now." Max replied. "My dad had told me about it. See that window up there?" He pointed to a row of round windows in the stone. "That's where the Hufflepuff common rooms are. Dad said he could see the garden from his room so I'd expect it would have been one of those." He pointed at the two windows at the end of the row.

"Are we allowed to go in?" Al asked.

"Well we were never told not to. " Max whispered walking in. "Shut the door behind you won't you Scorpius? That's the thing about Hufflepuffs," He continued. "the teachers never seem to keep the same kind of tabs on Hufflepuff as they do on the other houses. They seem to think they can trust them or something. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed I wasn't in Hufflepuff. You have no idea how much dad got away with."

"And that's why you're not in Hufflepuff." said Rose.

The garden was more like a large meadow, with soft grass and wild flowers. On either side of the scrambled stone path they were following, were enormous rows of every type of vegetables imaginable. Rose didn't even know there was a such thing as blue tomatoes.

The air smelled fresh and clean, with a hint of peppers and flowers. Funny enough, the house elves didn't seem bothered at all by them being there. In fact, they would glance at them, smile and continue working.

As they walked further, they ended up in an orchard. All sorts of trees surrounded them. Even tropical ones such as coconut, banana, and cocoa bean trees. In the distance they spotted a large pumpkin patch. They ran toward it, which brought them to an area that looked like the Autumn Season. All the trees were different colors and bright leaves littered the ground. As they walked pass the pumpkins they found themselves in a type of Fall forest, trees were all around and the weather was crisp and cool. There were even squirrels running around with acorns.

Their attention was captured my what looked like a wooden mine hidden through three. They had to crouch to fit through the elf sized doorway. Inside looked kind of like a winery. There were several large wooden barrels, which were all spinning and shaking madly. Whole pumpkins were floating upward and into them one by one. There were several different tubes coming from the spinning machine, from one tube came seeds, pumpkin peeling, and stem, and from the other came a thick frothy orange liquid which ended up in large metal buckets. The buckets were carried down a staircase and out of sight. House elves were directing the floating pumpkins into the barrels, others were carrying them in and placing them into piles.

"Excuse me?" Al said to one of them. "But what are you doing?"

"Us?" Asked the elf surprised, it spoke in a very squeaky voice. "Well we're making pumpkin juice of course."

"You mean you actually _make_ fresh pumpkin juice every day?" Asked Rose.

The elf turned toward her looking slightly surprised.

"Of course!" It said. "We don't serve our masters _yesterday's_ beverage."

"Oh," She said. "Well, thank you."

The house elf smiled, and continued down a wooden staircase. Following, it led them into the kitchens. Hundreds of house elves were busy in this area. Ovens as big as small elephants stretched across an entire wall.

"I wonder," Said Scorpius quietly. "how many elves have died by falling into- mph!"

Rose elbowed him in the stomach.

"That's a horrible thing to say."

There were four long tables in the center of the room spaced out exactly where the four house tables were.

"Looks like we're having tacos for lunch." Said Max.

They left the kitchens and ended up spending the next couple hours still exploring. They came across all kinds of nut trees. They decided to stay clear of the chestnut area, Max had pointed out that the chestnut protective shell was very sharp, and its barbs would stick into their shoes.

Rose learned that Hogwarts also made homemade peanut butter, jam, butter, apple butter, milk, ice cream, chocolates, maple syrup, and bread. Rose didn't know what she had expected, but her family normally just bought their food from the grocery store. She guessed she had kinda thought that Hogwarts did the same.

They roamed until, around lunch time, when they decided they'd take refuge in the orchard and eat from the trees there after washing their hands in a nearby stream. They kicked their shoes off so that they could feel the soft grass beneath their feet. And spent most of the evening there talking and eating.

A peach had fallen from the tree above and landed between her and Max.

"Don't eat that yet, Rose." Said Scorpius. He pulled out his wand and said, " _Scourgify._ " The peach blew up her hand. ". . . Well that didn't work. . ."

"That's alright Scor," She said picking another off the ground. "I'll use my skirt to clean it."

They watched the house elves picking the fruit from the trees and gathering them in large woven baskets. Some were using ladders, but others had to stand on each other's shoulders. There was one group that had a stack of three elves to reach the oranges.

Al had tried to help them, but when he asked, another elf came rushing toward him, shoved a plum in his hand, and had him sit back down. Scorpius and Max laughed.

"It's a matter of pride Al. " Said Rose. "They don't want help."

They laid back in the grass and listened to the elves gossip, " _Did you hear_?" They would say, " _Quincy, she was bit by a giant roach! Yes! The gnome division is having quite a task with them lately, keep trying to eat up the grapes_!"

They laid there until they could see stars out.

"Look. " Said Maddox pointing up into the sky. "It's Scorpius."

"It's what?"

"The constellation Scorpius. You see, those stars there make the claws, that one makes the tail. . . Don't you see it?"

They turned their heads to the left.

"No." Said Rose.

"Oh. . . " Max said. "Well that's a pity, it's really cool. I would lay on my roof back home all night to watch them."

"I wonder how many students know about this place." Thought Rose allowed.

"Only the Hufflepuffs that live in those dormitories. And whoever else they had told."

"But the Quidditch pitch isn't far from here. If the players got high enough, surly they would see it." Said Rose.

"No," Said Al. "from above it looks like a large greenhouse."

"How do you know?" Asked Rose.

"It's in _Hogwarts a History_. Haven't you read it?" Maddox answered.

"No." She replied.

"Well you should." Said Al. "It has a lot of important information. It mentioned the gardens, but it never said where on the grounds it was, or how to get in. I don't think they wanted to many students to find out."

"Well I'm glad they don't." said Rose stretching. "It's almost just us here isn't it? Peaceful."

…

"I'm cold. . ." Scorpius finally voiced what they all were thinking.

Al walked to one of the elves who was weeding a flowerbed, and they noticed that there were much fewer than had been an hour before and lanterns had been light all around the stone path.

"What's the time?" He asked.

"Emmer!" Called the elf in a slightly rougher voice. "Master wants to know what time it is."

"It's ten-o-three!" Emmer called back.

"Ten-o-three, young master." Said the elf.

"Thanks." Al muttered in panic.

"We're supposed to be in our common room by nine-thirty!" Scorpius gasped.

They sprinted out of there as fast as they possibly could. But the more they ran, the further the castle seemed to be, not to mention they were running up the ginormous hill. The castle was now in sight looming above them in a frightening way.

"Please for the love of Merlin let the doors be unlocked." Rose muttered as they neared the oak front doors, and to her utter astonishment, the door swung open when Scorpius and Maddox pushed.

They bolted into the entrance hall, Al and Scorpius split for the Slytherin common room and Maddox and Rose had to hurry up the stone steps.

It was very dark and they had trouble seeing anything, twice, she had trodden on Max's foot. They were extremely out of breath, and Max had to keep grabbing her by the robe collar to prevent her from running into suits of armor; she was regrettably, terribly clumsy. As they covered their fourth flight of stairs, Rose heard an odd choking noise from behind her. She tried to slow down, to turn and see what it was, but before she could, a hand grabbed her collar and she made that same choking noise as her collar tightened around her throat.

The hand spun her around aggressively to face its owner, her stomach dropped. It was Filtch the caretaker. He had Maddox by the tie and her by the back of the shirt. He was probably the worst person to catch them at this moment. He was known for having no mercy, and pleading was not a language he understood. He was very old, how he was strong enough to hold both her and Maddox at the same time was beyond her, especially considering Maddox was putting up quite a fight.

"Well," He said in his old wheezy voice. "Two catches in the first two days. Tututu. " He tutted sarcastically, a grin spreading across his ugly face, revealing yellow teeth.

He began walking in the opposite direction as they had been heading. Maddox continued to fight and pull away, but Filtch would pull his tie tighter and cause Max to choke. He ended up having to quit fighting in fear of death by strangling.

"Professor Dalbert's office is closest I think." Wheezed Fitch, "We'll pay him a visit shall we?"

It was difficult having to walk a straight line considering Filtch had grabbed a large chunk of her hair with her collar which was very uncomfortable. And she kept stumbling over her own feet.

"I was just heading down to lock the doors," He said, "I had forgotten, good thing too, I would have missed this catch."

"We're not animals, so stop calling us a catch will you?" Said Max angrily, his hair was turning crimson as were his eyes.

"You shut up!" Barked Filtch pulling Max's tie and causing him to choke again, Rose now felt her ears getting hot. "You're in enough trouble as it is!"

 _Honestly_ , Rose thought, _how has this guy lasted this long? Why hasn't Hogwarts sacked him already?_

They ended up walking through a door with a sign above it saying, _Defense Against the Dark Arts._

 _So Professor Dalbert was the D. A. D. A teacher?_ She was surprised that, that was the thought going through her mind at the moment.

They were led across the classroom which was cluttered with desks that hadn't yet been properly placed about the room. Filtch stopped in front of a door at the other end behind the teachers table.

 _Bang, Bang, Bang_! Fitch knocked. There was a scraping noise and footsteps from the other side, a moment later Professor Dalbert appeared in the doorway fully dressed in his teachers robes and looking tired.

"Filtch?" He said, "What's this about?"

"Students out of bed, two of them." He replied, "Quite a lucky _catch._ "

Dalbert looked down at them confused,

"On the second day?" He said, then sighed. "Come on." Dalbert walked from the doorway and into the classroom. "Take a seat." He said to Maddox and Rose gesturing toward a couple desk chairs.

Filtch finally let go of them, Maddox rubbed his throat glaring.

"Thank you Filtch, you may go." Said Dalbert.

"But P-Professor," Stammered Filtch. "I will need to escort them back to their common room."

"Mr. Filtch," Said Dalbert irritably, "I will not need you to torment these students any longer, you have done your part, you may go."

Filtch looked mutinous as he stormed out. He seemed to have really wanted to see them punished.

"And you two," Said Dalbert pulling out a quill and paper, "What are your names?"

"Rose Granger-Weasley. " She murmured.

"And you, son?" He asked.

"Vladimir Everard. " He replied crossing his arms.

"Alright Mr. Everard you can calm down. " Said Professor Dalbert, his Spanish accent being a lot stronger than it had been at the sorting, "Your hairs gonna catch fire the color its going. Now, why were you two out of bed?"

"We were in the grounds and lost track of time." Said Rose. Maddox was staring at Dalbert.

"Okay," Dalbert scribbled something on the parchment. "Was there anyone else with you?" He asked not looking up.

Maddox looked down at his feet very quickly. Dalbert seemed to have noticed.

"Miss Weasley?" He said. "Was there anyone else with you?"

"No." She lied, also looking at her feet.

Dalbert sat back in his chair, "Stupid question to ask." He said, "I expect even if there were others, you wouldn't tell me. Miss Weasley, Mr. Everard, I will have to give you two a detention and I will be writing to your parents. I will also be taking ten points from Gryffindor each."

They both looked up at this, Rose starting to feel very sick.

"It would normally be more," He continued. "but I'm going easy because classes haven't even started yet, so Gryffindor would be negative thirty points."

"Thirty?" Protested Maddox. "No, twenty!"

"I have already had to take ten points from another Gryffindor for acts of violence." Said Dalbert. "Thirty. Now if you will come with me, I will escort you to your common room."

They got up and left the office.

"Honestly," Said Dalbert as they walked. "I don't know how Filtch still works here. I mean the way he treats you guys. I think the other teachers feel bad for him, considering he's. . . " Dalbert stopped.

"A squib." Finished Rose.

"Yeah, didn't want to tell you if you didn't already know. Please excuse me, I shouldn't talk ill of the other staff members, it's unprofessional."

"We don't mind." said Rose quickly. She actually was really enjoying Dalbert talking about Filtch, now she knew that students weren't the only ones that hated him.

"He wasn't here when I was at school, you know? It was a jolly old bloke named Kardith. He didn't do much work, but he always had candy on him and gave it to the students before every Astronomy class; we didn't think he liked Professor McGwire very much. It wasn't until my seventh year at Hogwarts that Filtch turned up, much younger of course." Dalbert finished. "Hold on." He put an arm out to stop both Rose and Maddox. Peeves the poltergeist came cackling through the corridor in front of them, he was tearing the pages from a book as he passed.

"What year was that?" Rose asked. Maddox didn't seem up to talking at the moment, he had his arms crossed and was glaring at the floor while they walked.

Dalbert thought, "Eesh, I don't know, I think it was 78. But the students were all very upset to see Kardith go, especially when finding out that Filtch hated them all, much less didn't carry candy. Here we are." He said stopping in front of the portrait of the fat lady.

"Pologia-mephmorphis." Said Rose, and the portrait swung open.

"Goodnight." Dalbert said, and he turned in the opposite direction and walked away.

Maddox and Rose stepped into the common room.

It was half full of other students who looked at them as they walked in.

"Ohhhh," Said a fifth year girl through a lisp. "Well somebody's up after dark."

"Rose?" Said her cousin Victoire disapprovingly. Even James looked up. Fred however, threw his fists in the air excitedly.

"On the second day!" he shouted. "That's better than I've ever done!" Roxanne was clapping solo.

Maddox ripped off his tie and threw it over a chair and sat down by the fire.

"Well that could have been worse." Rose said relieved, sitting on the arm of his chair.

Max looked up at her in disbelief.

"We got detention Rose," he said. "And points taken away. It was pretty bad." But Rose was distracted by Max's eyes going slowly from red back to purple.

"Rose?" Said Maddox. "What are you starring at?"

"What?" She said blinking and looking at him directly. "Oh, sorry. " She said. "I was watching your eyes. They went back too normal."

"Oh." Said Max rubbing them now. "Yeah, I can change my hair, but I don't have control over my eyes. They change depending on my mood, which believe me is very inconvenient. I suppose they're purple when I'm chill or relaxed. Well I can sometimes control my hair, but it also changes sometimes depending on my mood."

"Does your eyes change color when you're lying?" She asked.

Maddox stopped smiling abruptly, the effect was slightly frightening.

"I just notice you look down quickly when Professor Dalbert asked if there was anyone else with us. I thought it might have been because your eyes were… changing." She said feeling now uncomfortable.

"No. My eyes weren't changing colors." but he was now looking at his hands which were clinched in his lap.

The atmosphere became suddenly tense and she couldn't understand why.

"But really we did get off easy." She said to break the silence. "My mom, uncle, and another Gryffindor all got fifty points taken away in their first year when they were caught out of bed after hours, and detentions."

Maddox's mouth fell open.

"Fifty points each! That shouldn't be legal. What did they have to do for detention?"

"They had to go into the forbidden forest." She replied.

"What? That's it?" He said looking relieved.

"Well they had to go in to find a monster that had been killing unicorns."

His look of relief vanished.

"But that's not the only kind of detention." She said quickly. "My dad had to polish the trophy's in the trophy room, he also had to clean hospital pans, my uncle had to go through old records, he had to do some gross things in the potion classroom. But whatever we have, it will most likely be dull work."

Max split to go to bed after Rose left for the girl's dormitories through cheering again from a few of her cousins which made her face go red. His dormitory was at the end of the hall and the door had a brass number one on it.

He walked in to see two of his other classmates already in their beds.

"Detention. " Said a boy with yellow hair. "And on only the second day."

"Shut up, Calvert. " Maddox replied.

"I heard that Filtch hangs students by their thumbs for detention." The boy called Calvert said.

"Who told you that?" The second boy asked, removing his glasses.

"Filtch." Replied the boy.

"That's stupid." Said Maddox.

He sat on his bed, which was right beside the window, took his quill and parchment and scribbled,

" _Dad,_

 _I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. Classes start tomorrow._

 _Yes, I've made a few friends. Tell Beverly I said 'hi' and that I hope not to see her when I come home. Don't let her read this. -Vlad_ "

He looked down at the finished letter, deciding that he'd send it in the morning, he laid back down, placing the letter in his side cabinet.

No sooner had he pulled the covers up did he notice, writing on one of the bed posts; it had been carved into the wood and looked rather old.

He read the largest word, ' _Prongs_ ' and smaller around that were the words ' _wormtail, padfoot, and moony_. '

Probably notes for a test, he assumed before he fell asleep.


	6. Herbology With Neville

**R** ose came running down the stairs the next morning feverishly putting her hair in a ponytail and making a point of getting out of the girl's dormitories as fast as she could.

"Morning." she mumbled to Maddox who was playing exploding snap with two other boys at a side table in the common room.

"Good-" he started saying to her with a face covered in soot. "What's wrong?"

Before she could answer, there was a loud piercing scream from the girl's dormitories.

"CROMWELL!" The voice shouted from the girl's staircase. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? ROSE!"

"Oh shoot!" Rose whispered and she tore from the common room.

Max threw his hand of cards on the table, which exploded, "Ow! God I hate this game!" and he ran after her.

"What did you do?" He asked as she hurried down a flight of stairs.

"I didn't mean to." She replied guiltily. "It's Mary's owl. The things a menace, honestly. So I... well I tried to shrink it; it didn't work. The thing ended up sprouting an extra wing from its head."

Maddox snorted with laughter; Rose smiled sheepishly.

They entered the great hall and joined the Gryffindor table where there were a good few already eating. They sat and began buttering toast. She had a new appreciation for breakfast that day, the strawberries, toast, butter and jam and Rose savored every last drop of pumpkin juice.

Scorpius and Al joined them for breakfast. They still didn't know what had happened the night before.

"Morning." Said Al looking perfectly cheerful. "You won't believe how lucky we got last night." He said. "We almost ran into one of Filtch's cats."

Maddox gave a snort, "Yeah? Well we ran into the real thing."

"What!" Whispered Scorpius.

"Yup, we were strangled, brought to a teacher and punished." He replied stabbing his eggs with his fork. Scorpius and Al's mouths were open.

"It wasn't that bad, don't exaggerate." Said Rose rolling her eyes. "Filtch caught us probably around the third or fourth staircase, brought us to Professor Dalbert, you know the guy who did the sorting, and he was very reasonable in my opinion. We did get detention, he wrote to our parents, and we got twenty points taken from Gryffindor."

"What?" Said Al looking over at the Gryffindor hourglass, which had absolutely no rubies in it. "That sucks for you guys."

Al had stopped with his spoon halfway to his open mouth to stare at the man walking over toward them. Rose tuned to see Professor Kemp.

"Oh put your spoon down." Rose scorned to Al in a whisper. "You look ridiculous."

"Good morning." said the Headmaster stopping in front of them. "Sorry for the wait Miss Weasley." and he handed her, her wrist watch. She took it to see the face ticking cheerfully.

"It now had an unbreakable charm, the numbers glow in the dark if you tap it twice, and the face will show you the weather see?" Rose looked to see her watch just as it always was.

"But I don't see the weather." she said, the face was the same shade of baby blue as always.

"What is the weather like today Miss Weasley?" he asked.

"Uh, bright and sunny." she answered.

He pointed up at the enchanted ceiling in the great hall which always reflected the sky outside, then back at her watch which was the same color as the ceiling.

"Oh."

"And when it rains," Kemp went on excitedly, like a child explaining a drawing to a parent, "little droplets will appear on the face,"

Rose started to connect it back to her wrist, but was startled when it clamped together on its own.

"Oh yes, and its magnetic." he said. "I got a little carried away, I must confess. I used to want to be an inventor."

"How'd you end up as a teacher then?"

"Delays are always inevitable. I haven't given up on that dream though."

When he left, it was beneath at least ten other watches being held out toward him, and to Rose's amusement, Kemp took every one of them.

The post arrived just then. Hundreds of owls came swooping down dropping packages and letters upon the students. Two letters fell in front of Rose.

"That'll be the reply about last night then." Said Al.

One had her mom's handwriting, and the other had her dad's. She ripped her mom's open first, she assumed it'd be worse than her dads, and read,

" _Rose Weasley,_

 _I am very disappointed in you. Breaking rules on your second day! What a horrible first impression! You haven't even started classes yet! I bet Gryffindor is negative points. And caught with a boy! You're only eleven! What in the world were you doing! I just hope you two met on the staircase and happened to be caught at the same time! Alone! With a boy! I never would have thought it! I really hope you have a good explanation for this!_

 _-Mom."_

Rose handed the letter to Al to read.

"I can't tell her I wasn't alone, that would give you guys away." She said to Scorpius and Al.

Al handed it to Scorpius, who read it, and gave it to Maddox.

"Oh. . . " Max said. "That's a problem. What are you going to tell her?"

"I have no idea." She replied taking her dads letter that Al was handing her, this one was longer.

" _Rosie,_

She read,

 _"_ _Your mom and I got a letter from Professor Dalbert last night about you being out of bed after lights out. I am very disappointed that you were caught breaking rules on only the second day. I thought I would have taught you better, Rosie. . . you can't get caught. Your mom is writing a letter right now, most likely telling you off. Look, next time your out of bed after hours use the marauders map! James took it from Harry's desk in his first year, you can nip to the boy's dormitories and snatch it. But don't sneak out unless you have it. I don't want to 'hear' about you breaking rules again._ _Be smart about this, detentions are Not fun._

 _But I did want to touch on the matter of you being caught in the grounds after dark alone WITH A BOY! What on earth were you thinking? It better have been a Gryffindor! I do expect an owl with your explanation!_

 _-Sincerely,_

 _Your protective dad_ "

She handed the letter to Al.

"This one's not as bad." She said.

Maddox stood up from the table remembering the note he had written to his dad the night before.

"I have to send a letter," He said and began to walk away.

"ROSE WEASLEY!"

Screamed a familiar voice from the entrance all that echoed throughout the castle; nearly the entire great hall turned to see what the noise was.

"Hold up, Maddox!" Rose called, not eager for a conversation with Mary at the moment, "I'll come with you!"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY OWL!"

Rose slipped the hood of her robe over her noticeable red hair and did the same to Max's, and they both walked right past Mary whose face was red with anger and looked liable to explode.

"I think she's part vela." Rose muttered to Maddox. "Just without the drop dead gorgeous part. Her mood changes so violently."

"YOU!" Mary called and walked right up to Scorpius and Al; Rose and Max had already slipped past, and out of the hall. "You guys hang out with her. Where's Rose?"

"Why do you want to know?" Asked Al, scooting away from her.

"She was the last with my owl and now he's ruined!" She shouted.

"It can't be that bad." Said Scorpius reasonably.

Mary pulled a large lump from inside her robes and shoved it toward them. It looked like a mound of ruffled feathers. Though with closer inspection they found that it was her owl. It had what looked like a shriveled wing protruding from the side of its head. Its face was looking oddly squashed, the bird however, was hooting merrily and seemed completely cheerful.

"Ugh, get it away from me!" Said Scorpius throwing out his hands.

Mary began to cry.

"Look," Said Al, "go take it to the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, or Madam Pomfrey; they'll fix it up."

Mary stormed from the hall angrily, holding her owl in arm.

"Geez." Said Al turning back toward his bacon.

"Not to be rude," Said a stout fourth year boy, "But what are you guys doing over here? This is the Gryffindor table."

"We're eating." Replied Scorpius Casually.

"Actually," Said Al, "we're leaving. We're gonna be late for Charms."

Al got up, slapped Scorpius on the back, and they both walked swiftly from the hall.

The other Gryffindors watched them leave.

"I like them." Said a sixth year boy.

"I think they're kinda cute." Said a giggly first year.

Rose and Max had to run from the owlery, forgetting what time it was, and just made it into their class room in time to see Professor Binns glide through the black bored. Professor Binns was the History of Magic Professor and only ghost teacher.

It was soon clear that History of Magic was a class not to look forward to. It was extremely boring. Rose could understand that what Professor Binns was saying could be interesting, if he didn't talk in such a drawl as if he was speaking at a funeral. The Ravenclaws were also looking tired and bored. Though as much as she would like to fall asleep right now, she still had her book, notepad and quill and was halfheartedly taking notes on the C _entaur Qualification of 1669_ because even on her first day, she wanted to be the best witch that she possibly could be. And though Scorpius had challenged them on the train to be whoever they wanted to be and let everyone else think what they wanted to think, she still felt like she had her mother's reputation to uphold.

"God I hope Herbology will be better." Maddox was saying as they emerged from History of Magic.

"It will." Rose replied. "Professor Longbottom's Al's godfather, he's pretty cool. And we're having it with the Slytherins."

Rose followed Max out onto the Hogwarts grounds and toward the greenhouses. The ground outside was solid and warm; it was a beautiful day. Rose turned around to face the castle while walking backward. It was an amazing sight. The castle towered over them in an intimidating and impressive way. The white puffy clouds seemed to twirl a halo above.

"Greenhouse one. " Said Max, scanning the map in his hand while at the same time, grabbing Rose by her sleeve to turn her around so she wouldn't trip over the stump she was heading toward backward. "Looks like the Slytherins are already there. Funny, I thought we were early."

But as they grew closer they saw that it wasn't their Slytherins. In a sudden moment the greenhouse door swung open and all the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins came from it, almost knocking them over.

"Oh." Said Rose. "We are early."

Max had actually been knocked over by a Slytherin boy and was now dusting off his robes. "I really hope this isn't normal behavior toward first years." He said scowling. "As if they don't remember when they were our age. Like they don't know who we're gonna become. I could be the next Minister for Magic for all they know."

"Sure, that's gonna show that Slytherin." She said sarcastically.

They were the first of their year to arrive at the greenhouse, and the first to enter. Professor Longbottom, the Herbology professor looked up when they walked in. He had a round face, dark hair, and a wide grin.

"Rose!" He said in a deep voice, and strode over to her, giving her a fatherly hug.

He looked up at Max and seemed to be sizing him up, but he held out a hand anyway.

"Maddox sir." Max said grasping the Professor's hand.

"Ah, Professor Longbottom." he replied, "Is this the boy you were caught with last night, Rose?" he asked.

"How fast does news fly here?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"You'll be surprised at first, but'll get used to it."

Al and Scorpius walked in looking out of breath.

"Oh," said Al looking around. "We're not late. Scorpius you need to learn to read that watch better."

"Al!" the Professor, or Neville, looked very pleased to see him.

"I saw the sorting a couple nights ago. I had meant to come visit you guys sooner but I've been a bit tied up here."

"I understand. " Said Al thinking of the first day when he had watched Longbottom fighting that giant plant.

"Very surprising." Continued the Professor, "But I suppose what's Hogwarts without a few surprises. Oh you must be a Malfoy." He had turned to Scorpius now.

"Umm, Scorpius sir." He held out a hand.

Professor Longbottom seemed surprised by this but took the outstretched hand and shook.

"You guys know you're ten minutes early right?"

They shrugged. "Well then," said Neville. "You can help me set up for next class."

The rest of the class made their way into the room after all the tiny shrubs were placed around the table.

"Now line up around the table, that's it." said Longbottom. "Today we will be polishing Umple shrubs."

The shrub in front of Rose had crescent shaped leaves and silver color it was hardly larger than a green gem boxwood.

"Can anybody tell me what's special about the Umple shrub?" Longbottom asked.

Both Rose's Scorpius' and some other Slytherin girl raised their hands.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Well the Umple shrub, or the Moonaple, catches the rays of moonlight and reflects it back in the morning always emitting a nightly glow to the garden. Some people find it creepy."

Neville opened his mouth to say something but was distracted by Rose's hand that was still up.

"Yes, miss Weasley?"

"Scorpius was right, but it also is a key ingredient in the Wolfsbane potion. But the plant is greatly disliked by werewolves because if one were to walk into the glow of the plant, even in the daytime, they're transformation will begin, at least until they walk out of the ray of moonlight."

"Very good!" Said Neville. "You really have inherited your mother's brains. Ten points to Gryffindor and Slytherin for answering my question."

"But Professor Longbottom?" Asked a blonde girl. "I don't see any glow."

Neville looked at a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Miss Hoppkins, I want you to look closely at your Umple shrub."

She, and most of the class watched the shrub. With a wave of his wand, all the greenhouse windows went dim. The leaves, or petals now that Rose felt them, were letting out a silver glow that was actually quite beautiful but made all the students faces look ghostly.

There were _Ooooh's_ and _Ahhh's_ around the room. But with another wave of Longbottom's wand, the windows went completely black, and the shrubs glowed so brightly that it was giving light easily to the whole room. All the walls and other plants from around the room were drenched in silver light. And in a moment, the windows went back to their original state.

Professor Longbottom smiled at the look of awe on his students faces.

"And that," He said, "is why today, we will be polishing the petals, that glow was, quite feeble."

So they class spent the rest of Herbology using ' _Antsy's Pants Plant Polish Solution_ ' and gently polishing each individual petal until they could easily spot the glow in direct sunlight.

"Professor Neville?" Said Al. "How much would it cost to buy a umple shrub seed? And could one grow it themselves?"

"Well the seeds are rather expensive." Neville replied. "Yes someone could grow it themselves as long as they took proper care of it."

"I have some!" Said a grey haired Slytherin boy. "All around our house. Keeps them nasty werewolf away!"

Rose, Al and Scorpius scowled. Neville cleared his throat.

"Mr. Kelpik. . . " Said Neville calmly. "Just. . . don't. Not in here." And he began stringing a purple cactus looking plant, a little more aggressively than would be normal. The boy looked confused.

It was common knowledge to Al and Rose that Neville had been friendly with a werewolf named Remus Lupin during the second wizarding war where he was killed. And Remus was also the father of their cousin Teddy, and one of both Rose and Al's uncles was almost a werewolf. But she couldn't understand why Scorpius seemed angry. Scorpius was rubbing one petal so hard that it broke off the stem. His eyes widened and he shoved the petal into his pocket to hide it. Al supposed it may be because Remus was Scorpius' second uncle. . . Maybe. But they had never met, and Al knew the Malfoy's were known to be anti-werewolf. But then again, Scorpius had proved to, so far not to be a stereotypical Malfoy.

"Rose, what in the world did you to that owl?" Asked Al.

Maddox laughed, "She tried to shrink it."

"How did a shrinking charm cause an extra limb?" Al asked in disbelief. "You're the one who's supposed to be good at charms."

"I think I said the incantation wrong." She said. "It was early morning and I was disorientated."

"Nah, I think you did it perfectly, Rose. " Said Scorpius sarcastically. "Honestly, that thing's eye was stretched halfway across its face. I'm telling you, she'll be out for your blood. The look in her eye."

The class ended, and everyone was now filing out, all smelling strongly of chemicals, one girls spilling half the bottle of ' _Antsy's Pants Plant Polish Solution_ ' down the front of her robes. Al turned to walk out with everyone else, but Professor Longbottom called him back.

"Uhh, hold on there a moment Al. " He said.

"Yeah?" Al said turning around.

"I would like a word with you." Neville replied.

Al nodded to Scorpius, Rose and Maddox, who continued from the greenhouse without him.

Rose, Scorpius and Maddox split at the oak front doors toward two separate classes. The Gryffindors had Charms next. The subject was taught by Professor Flitwick, a very, very old wizard who was incredibly lively for his age. He was so short that he had to stand on a stack of books to see over his desk and he talked in a squeaky voice. The subject itself was quite enjoyable. Flitwick talked for a short time about the history of Charms and why it's important, then he handed the class each a number 2 pencil with the task of changing it different colors and patterns. He told them that this was only a warm up exercise. Everyone in the class soon mastered the color changing charm, then moved onto casting things away, which was much more difficult and which nobody mastered before the class was over, and which Professor Flitwick assured them was to be expected.

They ate lunch with the Slytherins and ignored the snide remarks about their presence from the others there. Scorpius entertained them by excitedly showed them all the knut that they had to turn into a muggle pence in Transfiguration, his had the Queens face on it.

"When are you guys with us tomorrow?" Al asked before taking a bite of green beans.

"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow with the Slytherins." Rose replied. "Nothing else."


	7. Flying Lesson

**T** ime went by faster than they all wanted it to. The first week was over and they were having their very first flying lesson that afternoon. This was especially exciting for Rose who, both Al and Scorpius agreed wouldn't shut up about it.

Maddox on the other hand was just as elated as Rose was. They would spend most of meal time talking about it and discussing different tips and tricks to try. Max wasn't planning on trying out for the house team, but he did follow Quidditch constantly.

"Will you guys give it a rest." said Scorpius grumpily at lunch. "You've been talking nonstop since you saw the announcement on the notice board."

"Well your just in a sour mood." said Rose.

"I'm not." Scorpius replied stirring his eggs around on his plate.

"Yes he is." Al said.

"No, I'm not." Scorpius repeated more aggressively. He stood up from the table and left the great hall heading toward transfiguration.

Rose and Maddox looked at Albus.

"Scor got a letter from a neighbor friend of his back home." Al said.

"Apparently Scorpius' parents had a row the other night, some nasty things were said, it's just got him in a delicate state right now. Don't mention anything to him, okay?"

Rose and Max got back to their toast awkwardly.

Not long after that, the three of them were walking onto the grounds for their flying lesson earlier than most.

As they stepped onto the Quidditch pitch where they were to begin class, they first saw Scorpius lying in the grass in the middle. He was looking up at the sky and absentmindedly pulling grass from the ground.

The other three looked at each other, they didn't really have anything comforting to say, that was normally Scorpius' job. He was the one who pointed out the positive situations in the friendship so far.

Instead of standing above him and making it awkward, or yelling their arrival and interrupting his daydreams. They simply took to lying beside him in the grass without a word. This was a lot more comfortable than Rose had thought it would be.

Scorpius glanced over at them, then back up at the sky.

"My parents are getting divorced." he said tonelessly. "But I'd expect Al has already told you that."

"We just heard that they had a fight." said Rose.

"Mom said that if it wasn't for me she'd have left my dad a long time ago. Dad asked why doesn't she do it now then, that I'm old enough to understand. To that my mom told him to stop treating me like I'm a man when I'm just a boy. Long story short, I'll be coming home to my parents pretending to love each other for my sake. That is, if mom doesn't pack up and leave before then."

"Those are just words." said Al. "Just fighting words, they don't mean it."

"If I never came to Hogwarts, this might never had happened." said Scorpius gloomily.

"Don't blame yourself Scor." said Rose compassionately.

"Yeah Scor, don't be stupid." said Maddox. The others looked at him. Rose didn't think whatever was going to follow those words would be a good idea right now. She knew Scorpius liked Max and all, but he wasn't as close to him as Rose and Al were.

"I mean everyone always tries to blame themselves when something like this happens," Maddox continued. "when it's not their fault in the slightest. But what's blaming yourself going to do? Or blaming anyone for that matter? It's not gonna make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, nor is it gonna fix the situation. Whatever happens, happens and it's your job to find a way to deal with it better, to make the matter manageable. And I swear to you, blaming yourself will only make you feel like crap."

Nobody said anything for a moment. Scorpius opened his mouth to speak but heard a rumbling of feet coming nearer and closed is again.

A small group of Gryffindors came to stop above them.

"What are you doing?" asked one of the girls.

"We're waiting for Madam Hooch." replied Maddox.

"We're supposed to wait on the ground?" one of them asked stupidly.

Max nodded lazily and the other students laid down on the grass beside them apprehensively. Max looked at Al and they both tried not to laugh. A group of Slytherin first years came a moment later.

"We're waiting in the grass for Madam Hooch. " said a Gryffindor in reply to the Slytherins faces.

Soon around thirty students were all laying in the grass in an even row waiting for their instructor. Thirty students not counting Alexis Micherl who wouldn't dare lay in the grass, ("The contamination!")

They all soon heard hurried footsteps striding across the ground.

"What are you all doing? Get on up and form two lines facing each other." It was Madam Hooch. She was an elderly witch with short, grey, spiked hair and eyes like that of a hock. She took her wand out and waved it furiously.

"Accio broomsticks!" she called, and a moment later, thirty broomsticks were zooming through the air and landed next to each student.

"Flying!" she called. "Is a very popular source of travel. It may be more difficult to some of you than for others, but trust me when I say that it will get easier the more you practice. There is a way to see if you will be a good flier before you even mount your brooms. You must simply hold your hand above your broom and shout, _Up!_ This must be with feeling and with confidence. If you broom jumps into your hand directly, then you will have nothing to worry about, if it takes a few tries, then you will simply need to practice hard. Go on and give it a go!"

All of the students held their hand above their brooms and shouted "Up!" Rose's shot straight into her hand, and so did Al's.

Maddox yelled twice before he was able to grip the broom – it had wobbled up slowly as if apprehensive – and Scorpius shouted the first time, the broom just rolled over, then he screamed the word with a thunder in his voice that made everyone else jump. And the broom shot into his hand a lot harder and anyone else's broom did. Scorpius did not look pleased like the others had; he had fire in his eyes and still looked furious.

His friends gave sideways glances at one another.

One Slytherin boy had yelled the word again and again but nothing happened. Everyone else in the class was already holding their broomsticks and waiting on him. Until finally Madam Hooch had to stride over, hold her hand above the broom, and cry "Up!" herself, and give the boy the broom.

"Alright!" She shouted. "Now that we all have our brooms, I want you to mount them, not to close to the handle or you'll slide off." she waited for everyone to do this. "When I blow my whistle I want you all to kick off from the ground hard, hover there for a moment, lean forward, and touch back down, do you all understand?" there was a nod, then she blew her whistle and everyone did as was instructed.

Rose and Al both did exactly as she said, except both Rose and Al hit the ground harder than they meant and Al toppled over. Maddox did well, but went too high, and Scorpius did perfectly.

The whole class was waiting while Madam Hooch was forced to help the Slytherin boy get into the air. The fact was, he was so large both in height and in weight, that he was having difficulty jumping. Rose tried not to watch, she could imagine how embarrassing this must be for him.

Finally, he succeeded in, very sloppily, elevating on his broom.

Madam Hooch had them preform a series of simple tasks. She had them hover above the ground on their broom for thirty seconds, then to one by one take a turn around the pitch. Madam Hooch flew below each of them in turn in case they fell. Luckily no one did, except for the Slytherin boy whose name ended up being Relctory. He made it about five feet before rolling upside down on his broom and falling two feet to the ground. He was brought to the hospital wing because he was saying that his back hurt. He left red faced beneath gales of laughter from the other students. Rose didn't find it at all amusing and gave Maddox an angry stare because he was smiling at it.

They each took turns flying around the pitch higher and higher until they were Quidditch distance above the ground. Scorpius preformed every task perfectly and Rose was disappointed to see a frown on his face. His parents were evidently still on his mind. She had hoped that flying would wipe all thought from his head, that it would clear his mind and be freeing, or maybe flying only did that to her. They finished flying class, the four friends feeling rather good about themselves, well three friends, you couldn't count Scor.

His bad mood lasted for most of the day and no matter what the others tried to comfort him with, didn't work. Rose was becoming very annoyed with his moping. She didn't say anything of course because that would make her sound insensitive. But one member of their gang being upset would put a damper on everyone else spirit's too.

The next day was Sunday and with a roar of what sounded like wind, a hundred owls came swooping in to drop letters and packages among the students during breakfast as they did every morning. Rose received a letter from her mom in response to her past letter explaining why she was caught out of bed at night with a boy.

Since she didn't have much of a choice given the circumstance, she had lied, and told her parents that she had been visiting Hagrid and lost track of time and had met Maddox on the staircase because he had been sending a letter. She assured her dad that he was a Gryffindor and that she wasn't doing anything wrong. Then she used reverse psychology on them, reminding them of all the times that they were out of bed. Her mom's letters content just said how as long as she was with Hagrid and she _had_ met Maddox on the stairs that she wasn't in too much trouble. And not to try and guilt them with past mistakes.

Rose had told Hagrid about the lie and asked him to please stick to that story if Ron or Hermione came asking. And it was only with her big pleading eyes that he reluctantly agreed.

It had been nearly a week since then and Scorpius had managed to finally cheer up. Classes had become very interesting and mostly enjoyable. They all really liked Professor Dalbert and the class was positively shocked to find out that he was forty-six rather than thirty as many of them had thought. Rose had done the math and figured out his age when they had been discussing Filtch the night they had gotten detention; but she was no less surprised by the sum.

"I take good care of my skin." was his explanation in response to their stunned faces. A couple of girls sighed.

Astronomy was every Wednesday night. Then there was History of Magic, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and potions which they had found Al to be very good at. Scorpius was dreadful and always emerged with soot in his face.

They were all in pretty high spirits until Professor Dalbert had asked Maddox and Rose to stay after a particularly fun D. A. D. A class where they had learned to cast their first disarming spell.

"I need a word about your detentions." He said sitting back down behind his desk. "Firstly, great job you two. Your disarming spells were some of the best I've seen from students your age." Rose beamed at him, Maddox looked torn between being pleased at the compliment or sour toward the detention.

"You don't have to give me that look Mr. Vladimir." Said Dalbert. "It's not like I _want_ to give you detention, you students seem to think that teachers find pleasure in only punishment and the destruction of your lives; that's not true. But even so, they will be held tomorrow evening in the kitchens, you will be cleaning the ovens. It's not too bad. Filch was trying to get me to have you clean his office. But I value the health of my students too much for you to have you go in there. You may go."

They stood to leave.

"Oh, and I wouldn't wear your uniform, it may get messy."

They left the office surprisingly cheerful.

"Well the ovens aren't too bad." said Maddox. "We'll get to see the kitchens. Of course we already knew where they were, but now we can see them up close without getting into trouble. Should be cool."

"I hate cleaning." Rose mumbled.

"Well nobody _enjoys_ it, do they?" he replied now turning down the corridor toward the portrait of the fat lady.

"Neat freaks and perfectionist?" Rose suggested.

"They enjoy the results, not the task itself."

"Your starting to sound like me. _Urfretties_." said Rose and the portrait swung forward.

"Now you see how annoying it is?" Maddox said.

Rose hit him over the head with the back of her hand jokingly.

"Actually, I found it quite refreshing."

They set themselves on the floor in front of the fire, the two cushy armchairs were already taken by James and Tyler who were tossing marshalows into each other's mouth.

Rose began taking out her homework and books.

"You are coming to see me tomorrow?" she asked.

"See you do what?" he asked ". . . Oh. Yeah, of course."

Tomorrow was the Gryffindor and Slytherin try outs and despite what Rose had tried to convince the others, she was quite nervous.

"You know what? I don't think that they want first year trying out for the house teams. We only get one flying class before. Scorpius said he's trying out for Slytherin. I think you should try for Gryffindor. It would be great for both of us to be on the same team." Rose finished filling her quill.

"Nah, I'm more of a watcher anyway. Besides if I join the team, Gryffindor will lose their biggest cheerer. Also if I try out, it would be a smaller chance of you joining too. Rose, will the try outs merge with our detention?"

"It shouldn't." she said. "Tryouts are at three tomorrows. And Slytherins are right after so we may even get to watch Scorpius fly."

Homework was progressively getting more difficult. Rose was very good at studies, but unlike her mother before her, she didn't enjoy it at all. She and Maddox met up with Al and Scorpius in the Library every evening.

"I hate Potions." Scor was saying while flipping through a book titled _200 Unappreciated Magical Substances._

"Of course they're unappreciated, they are pointless!" he said slamming the book shut and replacing it on the shelf.

"No they're not." Al protested. "Besides, potions are fascinating. It's just like cooking except with really gross ingredients. How can anyone dislike throwing a bunch of scrap into a pot and creating something new?"

"Someone who's creation blows up in their face." said Scorpius looking annoyed at Al's enthusiasm. "Literally. And I have never cooked anything in my life."

Al looked surprised. "Never? But it's wonderful!"

"Al loves to cook." said Rose. "And if you're working on Monday's homework for Professor Killpii, your looking in the wrong section of books."

"Where do you suggest I look then?" asked Scorpius evidently frustrated.

"Right here." Al answered pushing the book that he had been reading from across the table toward Scorpius. "Page 66."

"Astronomy though." said Maddox in awe. "Fascinating isn't it?"

"You think?" asked Al. "I find it rather dull. I mean I enjoy the stargazing part, but I can never find any of the constellations and the homework is a nightmare."

Maddox just shook his head.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts is my favorite so far." said Rose not looking up from _So you want to Fly?_

"I like Professor Dalbert yeah." said Scorpius. "But I can never tell if he's being sarcastic or serious."

"If you think he's being rude, it's probably sarcasm." Rose replied. "He's very real, not at all like the other teachers. He talks more like he's an Uncle than a Professor."

"Is there any class you enjoy?" asked Maddox peering outside the window of the library toward the sky consulting his Astronomy book.

"Yes," Scorpius replied. "Transfiguration."

"Least favorite?" asked Maddox again.

"Oh, History of Magic of course!"

There was a loud murmur of agreement including a third year Hufflepuff from three tables away. Maddox tore his eyes away from the stars and groaned.

"And it's not like we can hope for a new Professor either." said Albus. "Because the guy's dead isn't he? It's not like he'll want to retire or go on vacation to the beach or anything."

Rose amused herself for a moment imagining old, dead Professor Binns on the beach trying to tan.


	8. Detention

**R** ose woke one morning feeling very well rested. Mary's owl, Cromwell, was still in the hospital wing.

There was a small ' _thunk_ ' and Rose turned to see Pamela sitting on her bed holding her head.

"Bedpost?" Rose asked.

"Yup. I keep hitting my head on them." she replied.

Quidditch try outs were at three that afternoon and Rose was beginning to feel more and more nervous. And when she sat at the Slytherin table with Al and Scorpius, it was clear that Scorpius was too.

"I don't think I can do this." said Scorpius not eating anything.

"Nonsense." said Max sitting himself beside him. "You'll regret it if you don't. And what's the worst that can happen?"

"He can fall off his broom or make a fool of himself." replied Al unhelpfully eating coco crumbs. He looked up to see Scor's pale face looking at him. "Sorry." he said through a mouth full of cereal. "I told you I did that a lot."

"Issue is," said Maddox, "If you both make your teams, when Slytherin and Gryffindor play against each other, I'll have to root against Scor. And just think of the rivalry between you two when the game approaches."

"Why don't you root against Rose?" asked Scorpius.

"Because I'm Gryffindor, I'll always root for my own team won't I? It only makes sense." Max replied.

They left the great hall trying to cheer Scorpius up. Then seeing that it wasn't helping him, Al began telling him all the things that can go wrong so it would seem better by comparison. Scorpius didn't like that too much; he became more pale as the list went on.

Maddox and Rose split for Charms while Scorpius and Al left for Transfiguration.

They were now learning how to do freezing charms and were giving the task to freeze pillows in midair while they were hurdler toward the class. They first had spent the previous classes working on casting things away. So when they split into teams, Maddox would be able to cast the pillows at her, and she would try to freeze them. Rose's pillow kept slowing down in midair and slowly sinking to the ground. Her charm wasn't quite strong enough to keep it in suspended animation. Maddox was quite a bit better at it then she was. At the end of class, he had been able to keep the pillow there for as long as he wanted and was awarded ten points for Gryffindor.

At the end of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class later that day, Professor Dalbert called Rose and Maddox back for the second time.

"I had forgotten to tell you what time your detentions will be. You will please meet me in the great hall at ten tonight, where I will escort you to the kitchens. And here," he handed them two stickers, Maddox got a broomstick and Rose got a rose. She looked at the little black sticker, then black at him. "What? It's a rose, I thought it would be clever. Please peel back the plastic and place them on your writing hand."

Maddox put his on his left.

"But you're right handed." said Rose.

"I'm ambidextrous." he replied.

The sticker disappeared from their hands and seemed to be absorbed into their skin leaving an imprint like a type of tattoo.

"They're _'get out of bed after hour, free cards'_." said Dalbert. "That's how other teachers or ghosts know that you've been given permission to be out of bed. To many students roaming the castle at night saying they've been summoned or have detentions, then they go snogging in empty hallways. But don't be getting ideas. . ." he said peering over at them.

Rose's face turned red and Maddox sputtered.

"Believe me!" he almost shouted. "There's no way ever that we'd. . . ever. . ." Rose was nodding.

Dalbert looked slightly confused, then finally caught on.

"Oh!" he said. "Oh, no, I meant don't go roaming the castle at night." he went slightly red too. "I would never think- highly unlikely- I'd hope not- snogging? Your age? No."

Rose was now laughing at the mistake and Maddox was looking relived at the misunderstanding but still a bit awkward. Dalbert gave a small embarrassed smile.

"I was saying don't get any ideas about roaming the castle at night because those tattoos will vanish as soon as I say the incantation."

They left the office feeling a bit awkward. Then Rose suddenly began to laugh again.

"Snogging!" she howled losing control of herself and toppling over outside the classroom. Maddox looked startled.

"Calm down will you? It's not _that_ funny."

"With you!" she laughed. He stood up looking slightly affronted.

"Well I'm not _that_ bad." he reasoned.

Then he lifted Rose to her feet and said, "Alright come on, we have to get you to the pitch."

With difficulty he was able to calm her down enough to have her walk on her own. She became completely solemn when she saw the Quidditch pitch and remembered what she was about to do.

"Maddox, I can't." She said suddenly stopping before around forty Gryffindors waiting noisily in the stands for their turn to try out.

"Oh come on." said Max grabbing her around the shoulders and pushing her reluctantly onward. "You've been telling Scorpius that there was nothing to worry about all day, oh! There they are." and he waved toward Scor and Al who were already waiting to watch in the stands.

"You'll do fine. Besides, I'll be cheering."

Rose took to waiting with the others. There were only four other first years trying out and they all looked freakishly scared.

The other older Gryffindors were barking and yelling in loud voices, peering over at them from what seemed like a frightening height.

"Alright!" called a fourth year boy Rose knew by the name of Paxton Rockward addressing the noisy crowd. "My name is Rockward and I am the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. I know you're all eager to make your mark on the Gryffindor team! But there are only five available spots on the team and I'm sure you have realized that there are a lot more than five of you waiting to try out! We will start from youngest too oldest I think, yes. First years, please step forward!"

Four trembling first years and Rose stepped forward onto the pitch. The others her age were all trembling, and for some reason, she felt calmer watching them. They were a lot more scared then she was, and she couldn't imagine that she'd fly any worse than them at this state.

She knew that Rockward only wanted the first years to go first because he didn't want to waste his time, he didn't really think that any first years would have a chance on the team.

He instructed them onto the school brooms at a bit of a haste, not really paying attention. He had Rose play chaser though she wanted beater. He put the larger two as beaters. Rose was the only girl her age. He instructed them to fly around the pitch a couple times to assess their skill.

Most of them stayed on their brooms. One kid playing keeper kept sliding toward the broom handle and almost right off. He finally rolled over in the air and very sloppily flew to the ground saying, ("Okay, okay, I give up, I give up.")

Well that narrowed it down a bit. Rockward had a second year take his place. But the other three flew either very bumpy, or very slow. Rose had made it around the pitch twice before the others, including the second year, made it around once. She noticed Rockward watching her from the ground, and with a bit of pride, saw a look of surprise on his face.

"Alright!" he called in a thunderous voice.

The students came streaking, bumping, and sliding to the ground around him, all except Rose who hovered two feet from the ground knowing that they were going to have to fly back up again.

"Most of that flying was very sloppy, you need to step up your game. Wiginns!" he pointed at the second year boy. "You hover before the goal posts; we're starting a simulation now. Shmith, you and Fimmel are beaters." he called their names consulting a piece of parchment in his hand. "And I'll be playing chaser with Weasley and Kinnith."

They all nodded and rose into the air to take their positions. Rockward released the bludgers and rose into the air himself with the quaffel.

The red leather ball wasn't away from his hand even a second before Rose swooped down with an amount of speed that almost unseated Rockward and she scored a goal, Wiginns hadn't even seemed to notice the game had begun. People in the stands below were all watching with interest, almost all focused on Rose. Shmith and Fimmel were swatting madly at the bludgers and if anything, they were hitting the balls toward the other players rather than away from them. Rose had to do a full 360 on her broom to avoid one. And another bludger hit Rockward's broom handle and split it.

"Oi! " he called. "You two are out! Donive! Sillth! Take their place!"

Rockward was standing in as a chaser but wasn't doing much playing himself. He was forced to participate rather than evaluate when Rose would pass him the quaffle. Kinnith took to just following her around the pitch. Rose learned pretty quickly not to pass the quaffle his way, the ball would keep fumbling in his fingers and fall, where Rockward would have to swoop down and retrieve it.

"Kinnith! You're out! Jones! Take his place! "

After the eleventh goal Rose passed the keeper, Rockward called, "Wiginns!" and threw his thumb over his shoulder indicating that Wiginns was out.

"Potter! Take his place!"

James had been sitting, to Rose's surprise, by Scorpius and now made his way toward Wiginns to take his broom. Wiginns angrily threw his broom at James and stormed off, most of the people who were out had left.

Rose knew that her job was about to get a lot harder. James was an excellent flyer. He took his place in front of the middle of the three fifty-foot-tall goal hoops. And every goal Rockward tried to score, James would deflect spectacularly. But Rose's, two got past James when he could have easily avoided them. She looked below to see Maddox, Al and Scorpius in the stands cheering them all on.

Maddox wasn't kidding, he is Gryffindors best cheerer. This was only the try outs and he was jumping up and down and waving his hands and shouting madly whenever she scored.

It became so, that everyone who was on the original try out team had been rotated at least thrice apart from herself and now James. The game went on and on until every Gryffindor in the stands had been rotated leaving the best of the volunteers now flying around the pitch.

The rotated had already left grumpy, leaving Maddox, Al, and Scorpius in the stands. By this time, a large group of Slytherins were making their way onto the pitch.

Rockward got the other players attention and beckoned them all to the ground.

"Well done." he said out of breath and sweaty. "Meet your new team mates." They all looked around at each other. It had all happened so swiftly that they hadn't had a chance to notice what was going on. "Congratulations."

Rose could have done a somersault. The hand that had been gripping her stomach suddenly released its grip and she could breathe again. She made the team? She made the team!

"Last year, was the worst year for Gryffindor that I had ever seen." Rockward started, "Our captain had chosen to play all of his best friends as teammates though many of them didn't know the first thing about Quidditch. It was humiliating. So when I was appointed Quidditch captain this year, I thought the best thing to do would be to completely reboot the team and weed out the worst." he looked around at them. "Potter as Keeper, Stewart and Hubert as Beaters, Weasley, Trout, and Fisher as Chasers, and myself as the Seeker. I would like to tip my hat if I were wearing one, to Rose Weasley," Rose's face went red. "for being the first, first year to make the Gryffindor team since Harry Potter himself." The new team smiled and clapped for her, James even who was half smiling, but not thinking it to be that big of an accomplishment; Harry being his dad anyway. Rose had no idea that she was the first, this was apparently a really big deal, especially being the first after Harry who had his picture in the Quidditch trophy case. "Now that we are all a team, you have the right to call me Rocky." "We start practice-"

But Rocky was interrupted by a loud Slytherin. "Hurry up won't you Rockward! Our hairs turning grey!"

"Will you be patient Keith! We're almost done!" Rocky called back angrily.

"That's my half-brother. Anyway, practices are every other morning at five. We start on Sunday. Now go on."

The crowd dispersed and Rose made her way toward her friends.

She suddenly felt a hand grab her firmly by the arm and she turned.

"Look Rose," James started. "I'm really sorry about all that happened, I was wrong to attack Scorpius and I understand that you were in the right to stand by him and Al. And I was wrong to have teased Al too. You know I love holding grudges but not against family. And I wanted to say that you did really good on the pitch today and I'm happy that we're both on a team together." he said this all rather fast, as if he was trying to say everything he felt before he had time to think about what he was saying and change his mind.

". . . Wow." Rose said torn between saying she'll forgive him, thanking him for the compliment, or apologizing herself. Luckily she didn't have to decide because James sighed and said,

"Few, that feels better." and he put his arm around Rose's neck and began walking up the stands toward Maddox, Al, and Scorpius. That was the weird thing about James, he could hold onto a grudge forever and want to kill the person, but when all was resolved, he would act as though the thing had never happened.

"Hey James!" Scorpius called. "Any tips?"

"So you guys are okay now?" Rose asked in surprise.

"Eh, He seems to forgive easy, or just forgets." James replied.

 _Well that was easy._ She thought.

"Nah," James replied sitting beside him. "You just have to be able to fly. Don't think too much." he leaned back against the stands with his arms behind his head, he was evidently feeling pretty look about himself, she couldn't blame him.

"What's that?" Rose asked pointing to Al's hand.

"Oh, the Slytherin captain handed one of these tattoos to all of us waiting, so we would be able to stay up after bed, apparently the Slytherin trials will last past 9:30pm." Al answered.

Al, and Scorpius now that Rose saw, both had the imprint of a black serpent curled up on the back of their hands.

Scorpius stood to join the crowd of Slytherins and so did Al.

"Where are you going Al?" Rose called after him.

He shrugged. "Scorpius' making me try out. What's the worst that can happen?"

James smiled, "Good luck Al. " then he sighed.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"If he makes the team." James started. "I'll feel kinda bad when we smother the Slytherin teams faces in the mud during our first match."

James got a little too aggressive during Quidditch.

Rose watched the Slytherins do a completely different sort of trial that happened a lot quicker than the Gryffindor version. The captain, Keith, had each player participate in a series of races that judged, speed, balance, coordination, skill, agility, and strength. The winner of a race would sit in the stands and wait until the final test between them. If they did not pass the final test, then the runners up will take their place. This will narrow the players to always five. After the five are set, they will rotate positions to find what that particular person is best suited for.

Rose wished that Gryffindor had rotated positions. That would have given her a chance to try for beater rather than chaser.

Al won the race for skill and was now waiting on the bench. Rose had never seen Al fly so well, she had always known that he was a good flier, but he flew today, well now tonight, with such poise and confidence. James had been watching open mouthed. Scorpius won coordination. But that was all Rose was able to watch because her attention was interrupted by Maddox grabbing her by the arm and dragging her from the game saying,

"Detentions! Detentions!"

"But it's only nine! We still have an hour." Rose argued now being brought across the hilly grounds.

"We have to make it all the way to Gryffindor tower to get dressed in something we can get messy, then we have to make it to the great hall."

He said this panting for they were both now out of breath.

"It wouldn't be a big deal," he continued. "But the castle is so large you know, and it takes a good amount of time to get from one place to the other."

It was a little while before they made it to the Gryffindor tower. Rose bolted up her staircase and changed as fast as possible into a pair of green leggings and an overly large black t-shirt. She came down the stairs putting her hair into a ponytail. Maddox was at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her. He was wearing muggle jeans and a red t-shirt.

"Yeah, it's what I wore to platform 9 ¾." He replied to her quizzical look at him.

They made their way to the great hall now. By this time, though it hadn't even been two weeks since they first arrived at the castle, they had memorized their way around all the classrooms, staircases, great hall, corridors and so on. But there was an entire half of the castle that they hadn't even set foot in yet. The thing was, when they weren't in classes, they had too much homework piled on them, that they had little time for anything other than sitting in the library with Scor and Al studying.

The great hall looked very strange when it was empty. The lights were very dim, only lit by the few candles on the teachers table at the far end of the room. Max almost swore when he toppled over the Ravenclaw bench which had been completely invisible due to low light. Professor Dalbert was sitting in Kemps headmaster chair scribbling on a bit of parchment as they got drew nearer.

"Aw, yes." he said standing up and taking his glasses off. "Are you two ready?"

"If we say no, will that get us out of detention?" Maddox asked limping over.

"You know it won't, now come on." and he led them through a stairway at the side of the room and downward.

It became colder and darker as they progressed further down the flight of stairs. Portraits were on either side of the walls and their residence would watch them go by. Rose was holding her arms and Max's teeth began to chatter when they finally stopped before a painting of a bowl of fruit.

Dalbert turned to say something but stopped when he saw their freezing faces.

"Sorry about the temperature, but don't worry, your about to get a lot warmer." Rose wondered whether this was a joke about them being in the ovens. "Alright, I apologize, but I must ask you to close your eyes for a moment, only we don't want students knowing the way into the kitchens."

"We already know you tickle the pare." said Rose. Her parents had gone into the kitchen a plethora of times during their time at Hogwarts and her dad had told her how. She sometimes wondered whether he wanted her to get into mischief even more than her Uncle George wanted Fred and Roxanne to.

Dalbert looked at them suspiciously for a moment then said,

"You guys are going to be a bit of a handful, I can tell. " he tickled the large pare in the middle of the painting, it giggled and squirmed, then it turned into a large green doorknob that Dalbert used to open the solid wall.

The three of them stepped in, and the entrance shut behind them. The room was the same as it was the day they had seen it from entrance of the gardens. Except from this side, the room looked a lot larger, and there were very few house elves left scuttling around, only the ones left doing dishes. Dalbert led them to the end of the room toward many very large ovens, all open.

"As you already know, your task is to clean the ovens." Dalbert waved his wand and a bucket of chemicals, brushes and rags appeared by his feet.

"You must clean at least three of the ovens until they are spotless, if you have time remaining, you can clean more."

Maddox gave a small snort.

"Any further work on your part," Dalbert continued glancing at Maddox, "can reward you house points. There will be a couple house elves in here all night supervising, if they agree that your work is satisfactory, they will escort you to bed, is that understood?" there was a nod. "If you have any questions, you can ask Yoman. " He pointed at a tall elf with big ears and a long slender nose. "Goodnight."

The ovens were a lot deeper than they were wide, or tall. They couldn't stand up straight, so they had to sit inside and reach around with rags and brushes. Rose was thankful that Dalbert had told them not to wear their uniforms because the oven surfaces were so thick with black sludge and grease that everything they touched left a slick and unpleasant residue on their skin and clothes. For the first ten minutes they had tried to be cautious not to let their skin or clothes touch the ovens hardly at all. But after they realized that it was impossible, they gave up any hope of getting out clean. They were sitting in the ovens with their backs against the oven wall scrubbing at the ceiling when Rose said,

"I wonder how Slytherin tryouts ended up. I really hope Scorpius made it."

Maddox shrugged, "Yeah, though he didn't fly as well as he did at lessons."

"Yeah," Rose thought, "He didn't seem as focused or determined."

"Al though," said Max, "he flew incredibly! I thought he wasn't a fan of Quidditch."

"Oh no he's a fan, he just doesn't play as much as the rest of us do in recreational Quidditch. I knew he was a good flier but I'd never seen him fly _that_ well."

"Is your back starting to hurt?" He asked while working on a particularly difficult spot on the ceiling.

"Yup." Rose replied, "I think it's the ridges in the wall. " she stretched holding her back. "I'm too young to be having back problems." she yawned. "How long have we been here?" Max crawled to the exit of the oven.

"Hey! Yoman? How long have we been here?"

The elf looked up at a large clock that they hadn't noticed before.

"A half hour sir." the elf replied, and got back to his work.

Rose groaned "A half hour?"

Maddox clambered back into the cave like oven and began scrubbing again.

"I'm so hungry. " Rose complained "We didn't get supper." her stomach was very angry at her. She ate very little at Lunch, being nervous over try outs, she hadn't noticed her stomach screaming so far because of the busy afternoon.

They heard a clank, and scuttling, then a house elf came running over with a large plate of ham and squash.

"This was dinner. " It said in a squeaky voice handing them the platter.

"Ah, Thank you. " said Rose taking it, the elf bowed, and hurried away. Rose looked at her hands which were covered in grease, and wiped them on Maddox's shirt jokingly. He scowled and in turn, did the same to her. Unfazed they ate their dinner gratefully, talking about stupid stuff.

Many hours passed and Rose was poked awake by a long finger.

"Weasley, Miss?" said the elf cautiously.

She looked around, both her and Max had fallen asleep in the fourth oven. Max had fallen asleep leaning against the wall and Rose was asleep on his legs. She remembered laying here because she hadn't wanted to get her hair any greasier.

"You fell to sleep Miss. " said the elf. "We have inspected your work, and though the second oven was poorly done, we is deciding to let you go to bed."

Rose, delusional, hugged the elf and almost cried, "Thank you."

She had tried to wake Max but with little success. He simply grunted, and rolled around. She had to pull him by the leg out of the oven and he fell a foot to the ground and finally woke with a start.

Maddox, angry at the rude awakening, stood up rubbing his elbows.

They both tottered over to the exit, but the elf that was supposed to be escorting them, Yoman, was heading in a different direction.

"This way Sir and Miss. " the elf called standing below a ladder. They turned and headed in his direction.

They noticed that the kitchen was suddenly crowded with house elves again. They were bustling around, baking bread in the few clean ovens, the smell of breakfast meats was wafting through the air, and a tiny elf on a ladder with a huge spoon was stirring a pot of grits.

Maddox grabbed one of the many small bowls of porridge as he walked, and an elf held up a spoon for him as he passed.

"How do they keep the food hot after all this time? Till breakfast I mean." Max asked.

Rose shrugged, "A charm I guess."

"Oh Sir." said their chaperon elf. "Sir, I wouldn't take that up the ladder with us."

"Oh come on!" pleaded Maddox, the spoon half way to his mouth. "I'm starving."

"I is not saying you can't." said the elf. "I is just thinking it's not wise."

"Oh don't worry. " said Maddox, "I can climb a ladder with one hand."

The elf opened his mouth to speak, seemed to change its mind, then closed it again.

"Well then come along if you is ready." and he began up the ladder, Rose following and Maddox behind gripping and grasping with one hand, trying not to spill the food. Rose looked down at him disapproving.

"Yoman?" she asked, her voice echoing through the long tunnel. "Why don't we just leave the way we came?"

"Because this is faster." replied the elf. "There is eleven entrances to and from the kitchen. The kitchens are the most accessible area in the castle, it is having the most shortcuts because Miss, house elves is the ones in charge of the cleaning and the feeding, we is having to be able to get to places quickly."

"But you guys don't sleep in the kitchens do you? The kitchen isn't the place that needs to be accessible dose it?"

"The elves on duty is sleeping right below the kitchens sometimes. Our housing is being the most difficult place to enter in the castle. The kitchens are our second home. We is traveling to and from the kitchens using tunnels and ladders, pipes and secret entrances."

"Where do the elves that are not on duty sleep?" Rose asked.

"We have a small living space hidden on the grounds. " He replied.

"What passage do you use when entering the Gryffindor common room?" she asked becoming very out of breath and sore.

"There is a hidden hole above the Gryffindor mantel piece, to go to and from, you have to. . . to. . ." he stopped talking and stopped dead on the ladder. "BAD YOMAN! BAD! " He had begun hitting his head against the metal bars of the ladder.

Maddox choked on the food he had just taken a bite of and Rose grabbed the elf by his dirty little nightgown and pulled him from the bar so hard that she fell backward and on top of Max who dropped his bowl which shattered on the ground below. He used both hands to grip the ladder and caught them. Rose clambered back upward and pushed Yoman back onto the ladder and hoisted herself upright again.

"I is sorry, I is sorry." he was saying, holding his head with his long fingered hand.

"No," said Rose, "I shouldn't have asked."

Maddox was looking resentfully at Yoman holding his arm which had slammed against the ladder when they fell; the tip of his hair was red.

"No." said the elf. "I is a bad elf; I is revealing the castles secrets. I isn't holding my tongue."

"Let's just get back up." She suggested.

But the ladder didn't lead to a corridor or a classroom, but to a stone tunnel too small to stand up in and which had many twists and turns. Yoman walked through fine, but Maddox and Rose had to crawl which was painful for their knees and went on for what felt like an half hour.

They ended up traveling up another, much shorter, ladder then through another, much shorter, tunnel where Yoman turned at what appeared to be a dead end and said, "Please close your eyes."

Rose obeyed and assumed that Max did the same behind her. She heard a tap, then a click, then a creek, and Yoman's voice saying, "Alright, open your eyes now, watch your step."

Rose was kneeling before what was once a blank stretch of wall, but was now an opening blocked by a curtain. When she pushed the curtain and crawled onto a ledge, she saw before her, the Gryffindor common room. Maddox joined her on the ledge and they heard Yoman's voice from behind the curtain that Max had let drop, "Goodnight, well, morning." then with a creek, the opening had gone.

They looked around to find that they were sitting on top of the Gryffindor fireplace, and the curtain ended up being the very familiar tapestry of a great roaring lion.

The common room was completely deserted when they heard hurried footsteps from the boy's staircase and Jack Wilkins the prefect came into view, fully dressed and wafting a strong scent of cologne. He stopped dead looking guilty when he saw them, then his face of surprise became a face of confusion. He looked at them sitting atop the mantel piece, opened his mouth, closed it, then without a word, he strode from the common room.

Maddox jumped down and held out his hand to help her. She however, gave a gasp and slapped a hand to her mouth.

"What?" he asked withdrawing his hand quickly and looking around. She was looking at him full in the face now and said,

"Your hair."

"What about it?" he asked looking confused.

"It's. . . it's long." it was now shoulder length and black. He brushed the curls out of his face.

"Well yeah. . . I'm a metamorphmagus. . . I can do that." he replied taking her hand and pulling her down now.

"I just. . . okay. " She was looking at him fixedly. "Why?" she had gotten to use to his purple hair, her cousin Teddy changed his hair color, but rarely changed the style.

"Why did I make it long?" he asked. "So it would hang in my face and I could watch Yoman without him knowing that my eyes were open."

"You saw what he did?"

"Yeah, I wonder if it works the same way from the other side." he said as he pulled a chair in front of the fireplace. He stood on it and pulled the tapestry aside. "Hold this here won't you Rose?"

She climbed on the chair with him and held it aside. He was looking at the bare bit of stone intently.

"Yoman tapped a certain stone, pulled a nail downward, then pushed the stone aside." said Max. "But I can't find that same stone. It looked like an upside down heart."

"Like that one?" Rose asked pointing at a tiny stone in the bottom right hand side of the wall. Maddox jabbed it with his knuckle and there was a _click_ when a nail popped out of the stone suddenly hitting Max's knuckle which he had still against the stone. He wiped the blood off and pushed the nail downward, but instead of the stone sliding open, words appeared, scratching itself into the wall with a sound like nails on a chalk board.

" _What is Eldric Kemp's middle name_ _?"_ it said.

"What?" said Max, "I don't know!"

This was the wrong answer. A thick, fowl smelling blue liquid shot into his face. And he fell off the chair wiping it away from his eyes.

"Did it get you in the eyes?" asked Rose frantically, still holding the tapestry.

"No. Just my mouth." he gagged.

Then more words scratched themselves into the stone wall erasing the original.

" _Wrong Answer_." she read.

"Yeah." he said standing back up. "I got that, thanks."

"No, I'm reading it. That's what the stone says. I wonder how many Gryffindors know about this."

"None probably." he replied spitting into the empty fireplace.

"Pity," said Rose. "Professor Kemp told me his middle name but I forgot it, it was something silly like Goofy or Boofy. "

"Since when are you on middle name terms with the Headmaster of Hogwarts?" Max asked grumpily wiping the blue liquid from his tongue with the back of his hand which made him spit into the fire again; his hand still had oven grease on it.

"You know; I do think house elves have a very short end of the stick." said Rose sitting on the floor, her clothes still being to covered in grease. "They work tirelessly all day and night making food and cleaning our rooms, doing laundry and keeping us warm and comfortable, and they get no recondition."

"That's not true." said Max sitting in the chair they had stood on, not thinking. "Professor Kemp had us all give a round of applause for the chiefs at the Grand Feast. He must have been talking about the elves."

"But nobody knew that." Rose argued. "And they probably didn't even hear it."

"I don't think they were too bothered." he said.

"Mom was right to try to free them."

"Too free who?" Max asked.

"The elves. My mom worked for a short time in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures office at the Ministry of Magic. She had tried to get house elves paid work and good working conditions and benefits. She did make many house elves life's better."

"But what about Hogwarts elves?" he asked.

"They didn't want such luxuries." she responded.

"Well there you go then." Max said. "They don't care nor are they mistreated."

"Max?" said Rose getting closer, completely distracted from the conversation. Max backed away suspiciously. "You're glowing." she said.

"Uh, thanks?" he said awkwardly.

"No I mean your face is physically glowing. I didn't know metamorphmagus' could do that."

"They can't." he said standing up and striding toward a mirror aside the entrance hole. "What?"

His face had a glowing blue tint and bright blue speckles everywhere.

"The liquid." said Rose. "It must have been a type of potion."

Max opened his mouth to see a violently blue tongue. He turned frantically to see Rose trying to muffle her laughs into her robes.

"I don't see how this is funny!" he said. "I'm turning blue!" at this, Rose abandoned all pretense and toppled backward laughing. His hair began to turn green. She laughed harder holding her stomach, pointing at his face.

He turned back to the mirror. His face had gone two shades darker since they had noticed. Rose walked over to him and leaned on his shoulder regaining herself. After about thirty seconds, Maddox smiled and slowly began to laugh too.


	9. Moonacher

**T** he next day was Friday, and Rose's sleep was disturbed by Danielle Daniels prodding her awake. Rose yawned tiredly.

"What?" she moaned rolling over.

"Why did you come to bed so late?" Danielle asked. Rose, perplexed said,

"I had detention."

"Oh, well I was wondering because you came upstairs awfully giggly. I thought you might have been up kissing some boy."

"No, Danielle, I was not kissing." Rose replied flatly. "Is that why you woke me?"

"Oh right!" she said. "Umm, there's this boy downstairs, he wanted me to come get you."

"It's Maddox." she said yawning. "He can wait." and she rolled over again.

"Okay," said Danielle standing up and heading back toward the door.

"But he has a bag over his head."

Rose sat up.

"He has a what?"

"A bag." Danielle repeated. "Over his head. He sounds rather frantic. What? Did you give him a hickey?"

"WE WERE NOT SNOGGING!" Rose shouted, grapping her baseball cap and tearing pass her out the door. "I'M ONLY ELEVEN!"

Rose hurried downstairs, half worried, half curious.

She got to the common room and looked around. There were a few Gryffindors lounging in armchairs, but she couldn't see Max. She stood in the middle of the room looking around.

"You looking for the kid with the bag over his head?" said a seventh year boy from the couch.

"Yeah, where is he?" she responded.

The boy pointed to the staircase that she had just hurried down. She ran back up and stopped where the path split to the girl's and boy's staircase. She found him sitting on the boy's stairs with his nose so close to the pages of the book, _From Mars to Me,_ that he couldn't possibly be reading it.

"Max?" she said cautiously pulling the book away from his face, his hair was long again so she couldn't even see his side profile.

Max however, held the book firmly over his face.

"No." he mumbled.

"Oh come on." she pleaded. "You called me down here and you're not even going to tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm not moving the book," he said through clinched teeth. "because of them." he released one of the fingers that had been clinched around the book to point behind her.

She turned to see a small group of Gryffindors turn away quickly and pretend they hadn't been watching.

"Come on." She huffed as she drug him further up the boy's staircase and into their hall.

"Rose, you can't be up here." he protested when quickly looking over his book to see where they were.

She walked all the way to the end of the hall where the number on the doors soon bore the number _1._

She would have dealt with it in the hall if it wasn't for the many boys coming in and out on their rooms on either side of the hall, most of them watching her as she hurried pass, some calling after her. She scanned, still holding Max's arm, until she found the name, Vladimir Everard at the bottom of the list on the third to last door.

Rose wasted no time in flinging the door open and pushing him in quite aggressively.

"Move the book." she demanded.

Two boys still in bed sat up to watch interested, one of them pulled a blanket over his bare chest and the other put his glasses on.

"I'm serious, you can't be in here." he said again.

"Well it's too late." she said. "I'm here and you're being stupid." she reached over and wrenched the book from his hands.

What she saw wasn't funny anymore. His skin was now a navy blue and the speckled spots from the night before, were now white and glowing like stars.

"Good thing you like stars, aye?" he tried to joke, but stopped when she saw that he wasn't amused.

He sat on the edge of his bed and put his blue head in his hands.

"I don't know what this stuff is, Rose." he said. "I would have assumed that it would wear off by now but it hasn't."

The shirtless boy sat up in his bed, "Vlad you look like-"

"Shut up, Calvert."

"We'll ask Madam Pomfrey, she can do anything, she'll have a solution for you." Rose suggested.

"We're not seeing the Matron." he said abruptly. "We're just- not."

"What's wrong Vlad? Scared of the-"

"Shut up, Calvert!"

"Then we can go to Professor Killpii, he's the potions Professor after all, he'll know what this stuff was." she tried again.

"I don't like Killpii." Max replied resentfully.

"Well fine then!" Rose said standing up angrily. "You can just die then! This potion can just eat you from the inside out! You can slowly dissolve into dust; you obviously don't care enough to find out exactly what this stuff can do!"

"You know what I think?"

"SHUT UP, CALVERT!" Rose shouted.

"I care!" Max argued. "You just seem to more."

"Fine. But at least let Al see you, he's the only one of us that is any good at potions." she reasoned. "But we're now going to breakfast."

"I can't go like this." he argued pointing at his own face.

"Where's your bag then?" she asked. "I'm hungry and it'll be kinda hard for Al to evaluate you when your locked in your room."

"First of all," said Max. "it wasn't a bag-"

"I heard it was a bag."

"No. Second, it did look stupid and I'm not going into the great hall among hundreds of other people with a… _not a bag_ over my head."

"This isn't a bag?" the boy held up a brown sack type thing.

"Shut up, Calvert."

"Well just, use your hood." she threw the hood of his robes over his head.

"It doesn't cover my whole head." he said.

"Will you stop whining." she took off her baseball cap and handed to him who placed it on his head and swung his hood back over his long curly hair.

She bent low to see into his well concealed blue face which was looking rather glum.

"Yeah that works." she said and couldn't help up let out a small, quickly stifled, laugh at his face and the situation. Though quickly remembered that this wasn't funny and didn't do it again.

"Alright, come on." she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him from the room.

"Shut up, Calvert!" Max said one last time.

"I didn't even say anything!"

They made their way to the great hall and sat at the Gryffindor table, getting many looks because Max was wearing his evening cap at breakfast. He stood out, but no more than he would with a blue face, Rose kept saying.

James sat beside them with messy reddish brown hair and looked like he just woke up.

"Who's that?" he asked trying to see under Max's cap.

"It's Max." she replied. "His face is covered because it turned blue."

"Rose!" Max scorned.

"What? Nobody saw it, I thought that was what you're worried about."

"No, I was worried about that." he threw his hand toward James who was trying to peer under Max's hood more than ever, looking excited.

"Ah."

"Augh, will you stop." Max said finally lifting the bill of the hat enough for James to see.

James' face split into a wide grin and began to laugh.

"What the heck happened to you?" he said attracting a bit of attention.

"James, shut up." said Rose. "Max is sensitive toward this."

"I'm not sensitive!" he protested.

Rose was squished between James and Max as Scorpius and Al finally made their way onto the Gryffindor bench between James' other side and Dominique.

"What's so funny?" Al asked.

"Nothing." said Rose. "James is being stupid."

Fred strode over and plopped himself next to Al, then leaned over both him and Scorpius to talk to James.

"Hey, I heard there was a kid with blue-" he started saying, but he cut off when James shook his head amused.

"Don't ask." said James. "Rosie'll have you skinned."

". . . Okay." said Fred. "Look, I dropped a singamigig tablet into Fraunk's orange juice. So if you hear loud singing from the Slytherin table, that's why." He laughed.

"It works?" asked James. "It dissolved?"

"Well it dissolved." said Fred. Both him and James were peering toward Fraunk at the Slytherin table. "But we're about to see if it works. Needed someone to test it on didn't I?"

"But if we-" James started in a whisper to Fred, but his words were drowned out by a thunderous blast of opera coming from the Slytherin table.

Fraunk was singing uncontrollably, trying frantically to silence the noise coming from his own mouth. Some Slytherins were trying to help him, a large boy was hitting him on the back as if trying to knock the sound from him, but most of the Slytherins joined by everyone at every house table, were laughing.

Fred and James high fived across Scorpius and Al, and Fred stood up, pulling James with him, and did an overly exaggerated bow, where everyone who had seen him do it, all clapped and cheered. The fact was, nobody like Fraunk, he was a fifth year, and the type of person who would make first year pay three sickles to use the restroom.

"I have to keep up the family business one day!" Fred said. Roxanne ran toward him and pulled on his robes saying,

"It worked!" and she hugged James. Ortho and Fritz were cheering and clapping too, but Cian was gesturing toward the teachers table wide eyed. Scorpius and Al slid under the table and popped back up between the boy with the hood and Oscar. They were tired of being sandwiched.

There was a series of small explosions from the teachers table and they looked up to see Professor Donima, the transfiguration teacher standing with her wand in the air. And it was only when Donima shouted,

"WEASLY! POTTER!" that the entire hall fell completely silent, everyone except Fraunk who was still singing.

Rose noticed Fred and James look round at Professor Dalbert from the teachers table, and noticed Dalbert's mouth form the word, " _run."_

They didn't need telling twice, they bolted from the Great Hall, Donima in hot pursuit.

Professor Sinistra escorted Fraunk to the hospital wing.

Dalbert was at the teachers table trying to hide his laughter. And chatter broke out among everyone again and Al finally asked,

"Where's Max?"

"He's right next to you, won't you use your eyes." Rose snapped.

"Max?" Al asked.

"Yup." Max's voice came.

"Why do you have that hood on? Why don't you take it off?"

"Don't touch the hood." Max snapped holding up a finger, then hastily hid his hand again.

"Max? What's up with your hand?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't-" said Maddox quickly.

Al grabbed Max's hand and pulled it from the security of under the table.

"Wh-?" Al sputtered. "It's blue. . ."

Scorpius stared. "Why's your hand blue?"

"Why's my face blue?" Maddox asked angrily ripping off his hood. There was a sudden intake of breath from the Gryffindor table and Danielle's voice was heard saying in a whisper, ("Oh, see I thought he had a hickey.")

Al jumped, and Scorpius just said, "I didn't know metamorphmagus' could do that."

"We can't!" Max shouted, his eyes red.

"I keep saying he has to go to Madam Pomfrey." Rose chimed in. "But he's just being stupid. It was only his face this morning but now his whole arm."

Maddox didn't say anything.

"Why don't you go?" asked Al.

"Because if I go to the matron, I'll have to tell her what I was hit with and she'll know that I tried to. . ." he trailed away.

"Tried to what?" asked Scor and Al intrigued.

Rose leaned in close. "We found this secret passage way to and from the Gryffindor common room. Maddox tried to open it last night and was hit with this blue stuff which left a glowing blue tint on his face. We figured that it'd wash right off but when he woke up but..." she pointed at his face. "And I woke up to him with a bag over his head."

"But Madam Pomfrey won't ask many questions." Al tried. "My uncle was once bit by a dragon and had to go to the hospital wing. He had told her that it was a dog, of course she knew it wasn't, but she didn't ask questions."

"Yeah," Rose joined. "And my mom was sent to the hospital wing for accidentally taking polyjuice potion with a cat hair and ended up becoming half cat. But the matron never found out that they had taken polyjuice potion."

"It sounds like your family were a great deal of trouble." said Scorpius.

"Yep!" replied Al proudly.

"Okay," said Max. "We have double potions today, if the Professor can't tell me what happen and cure it, _then_ I'll go to the matron."

"Unless Al can tell us what it was." said Rose peering at him.

Al looked at Max full in the face, but just shrugged.

"I haven't the slightest."

The four of them sat down for potions after breakfast; not even a minute after Professor Killpii, a tall, slender, middle aged wizard who was slightly balding and had pink patchy cheeks, walked in the room, he asked Mr. Everard to take his hood off.

"I'd rather not, Professor." Max tried.

Killpii swelled and told him quite abruptly that if he doesn't do as he's told, that he'll lose points for Gryffindor.

"So if you asked me to dance naked on your desk and I refused, I'd lose points?" Max asked heatedly.

Al and Scorpius snorted into their cauldrons.

Gryffindor lost twenty points, but he kept the hood on.

It just so happened that the class was brewing a confusion concoction, which was blue. And would poof in the brewers face every other minute, making half the students to leave with blue faces.

"They're mocking me." Max said at the end of class trying to leave. Scorpius and Al ran off toward the bathrooms because Poppy had tipped Scorpius' cauldron when walking by which splashed down his shirt and was burning his skin. Rose grabbed Max by the robe and spun him back into the class.

"Ask him." she said.

"No way." he said spinning back around. "I don't like him."

Rose grabbed him again and pushed him toward the teacher's desk and called, "Professor!"

Killpii looked up to see Max struggling away from her.

"Yes Miss Weasley?" he called back.

"What's- wrong- with him?" she grunted finally making Maddox stop fighting.

"Uh, disrespect I'd say." Killpii replied.

"Nope." said Maddox throwing his hands into the air and turning around.

Rose reached out and pulled his hood off to revel a blue skinned, red eyed boy.

"Oh!" said the Professor. "Now that's not powdered picky skin."

"IS THAT WAS THAT WAS?" Maddox yelled rubbing blue powder from his hands onto his robes. "UGH, YOU SICK-" Rose hit him hard over the back of the head with _1,000 Magical Herbs and Fungi._

"Bring him here." said the Professor.

Rose handed him Max's arm, he refusing to do it himself.

"Well this is a potion." said Killpii examining his arm closely.

"Wow, thanks!" said Max whose voice was dripping in sarcasm. "You solved the mystery, okay, can we go now?" Rose hit him again.

"Well this looks like Moonacher." Killpii said ignoring Max. "That would explain the glow and the spreading. Was it a liquid that hit him?"

"Yes." Rose replied.

"Well that sounds like Moonacher." he continued. "But I can't explain the blue. Moonacher is clear and would just make to victim glow. I think we can a-"

"What's Moonacher?" Rose demanded suddenly.

"It's a potion, Miss. Weasley." He said looking over his square glasses as though this was a stupid question to ask, and as though she was being irksome.

"What does it do?" she tried again, ignoring his apparent annoyance.

"It doesn't turn its victim blue…" he said trying to end the conversation as soon as possible.

"You say victim, as if this stuff attacks." said Max finally engaged.

"Well Moonacher penetrates the bloodstream causing it to spread throughout the body." Killpii gave in, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "It can make the victim suddenly drowsy, but if he or she falls into this enchanted sleep, the potion will take over the mind and control the thoughts. When he or she wakes, they can't distinguish what's real from what's mental. A person with this potion in their bloodstream can be caught doing crazy things that they would never do consciously. Like spilling their true feelings to a crush, kissing someone, or even trying to fly. Many have died under the influence of Moonacher, jumping off bridges or building. Basically, it puts you into an eternal dream state."

Max made a choking noise and Rose asked,

"What is its long term affects?"

"Well I did say _eternal._ _"_ _He half rolled his eyes._

"And how long until this _enchanted_ sleep takes place." she asked again. Max seemed to be at a loss of words.

"It depends on the person." Killpii shrugged. "The immune system, how long it can resist."

"Yes but can it take place the day they get infected?" she asked worried.

"Not typically." Killpii replied. "Usually within the first twenty-four hours. But the fact is, the potion was _blue_ , it couldn't have been Moonacher. I've never seen the potion another color. I think it'd be safe to say that this is simply a Pinible draft. Very easy to brew, a mix between water, sugar, Umple shrub petal, sixfit beads, and food dye. It's often used as pranks. It should wear off within the next few hours Mr. Everard. So if you two will please excuse me, I have to do. . . this. . ." he gestured toward the many tiny glass bottles of confusion concoction on his desk.

They left the office white faced.

"Well, Lunch is next." said Max trying to act casual. "We can go eat then try to find a way to fix this."

Rose grabbed him by the sleeve and spun him around to face her, she had been thinking hard and was quite worried now, she had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

"Will you stop doing that!" he said pulling his sleeve from her grasp.

"We're not eating!" she said. "You. Are. Infected. We're finding an antidote now! Books, the answer will be in books! It's not Pinible, I really don't think it is. Fred had brewed it before and it didn't slowly become darker, yours is different."

"So you're not suggesting the Matron anymore?" he asked hopefully.

"If Professor Killpii couldn't tell us what it was, she won't either. But we're getting Scorpius and Al before anything else."

"Okay, I'll go to the library, and you go find them." he suggested.

"No need." she smiled and from her robe pocket, she pulled a small gold coin.

"What's that going to do?" asked Max looking confused. "You gonna pay someone else to fetch them or something?"

Rose tapped the coin with her wand and felt it become hot in her hand.

"Alright you go to the library, and I'll meet you there."

"But what was with the coin?" he asked pointing.

"Just go!" said Rose pushing him.

"Okay geez, you're way too aggressive sometimes." and he sprinted toward the Library.

Rose made her way to the seventh floor. Back when her parents were at school, they had this secret way of contacting each other in fifth year when Voldemort was at large. Her mom had taken Galleons and put a very complicated spell on them. They were handed out among a secret gang of students who were assembled to defend the school from dark wizards during the second wizarding war. Hermione would use her coin to send messages to the others about their next meeting.

She had given each one of the cousins the same type of Galleon, instructing them that if there were ever an emergency, to use the coins to summon each other together.

That was exactly what Rose was going to do. The fact was, she didn't know exactly what this potion was. It could be deadly, or it would be Moonacher, or it could possibly just be a potion to turn one's skin blue. But she knew that Al, Fred, and Roxanne were naturally gifted potion makers, James was skilled with his wand, and Molly was very smart. Dominique was a light hearted, encouraging person, Victoire had years on them, and Scorpius just had to be there.

She finally made it, out of breath, in the seventh floor corridor. This was where they had all agreed to meet if they ever felt the coin growing hot; that was how you knew you were needed.

Dominique was already there looking worried.

"Rose? What is it?" she asked as Rose sank against the wall.

"I'll wait until everyone else is here too." she responded. She didn't really feel like explaining eight times.

Five minutes passed and James and Fred showed up followed by Roxanne, Scorpius, Al and Molly finally showing up last.

They all looked nervous or worried, each clutching their coin.

"Okay." Rose started. "I called you all here because of Maddox."

"Who?" asked Molly.

"Maddox." Rose replied. "The kid with purple hair."

"Ah."

"Anyway, I need your help. He is infected with a potion and we don't know what it is." she said.

"Is that is?" said James looking a little disappointed. "I thought we were called for something really important. It's most likely just a coloring hex."

Rose felt her ears become red, they always did this when she was angry.

"First of all, James," she started. "it's a potion, not a hex. Second, this is really important, he could die. Even if it is a color changing liquid, I won't rest until I make sure. What if it wasn't he starts turning to dust-"

"Turning to dust?"

"-and it's too late to help, and we could have done something about it but didn't?"

"That's a little dramatic." said Fred. Rose looked angrily at him also.

"Don't give me that look, I'll help," he said. "I was just stating-"

"It's possibly Moonacher." she said finally.

Both Al and Fred gasped.

"What's Moonacher?" asked James.

"Moonacher is a potion that attacks the bloodstream causing the victim to fall asleep, it then takes over the mind making the person think that they were in a dream, even if they're not. It becomes permanent."

"A dream state?" said Dominique who had red hair and a beautiful face, but unlike her sister Victoire, she didn't have freckles. "That doesn't sound too bad."

Rose looked at her in disbelief.

"Jumping off a tower so you can fly? Permanent dissolution?"

"Oh."

"We're not sure. We asked Professor Killpii and he said that all the symptoms look right, but he couldn't explain the blue; he was very unprofessional about the situation." said Rose. "Max is in the library now trying to find an antidote and I need you guys to help us. Mom gave us those coins in case of crises, this is our first."

They all marched into the library together, everyone agreeing to help, and to their horror, saw Max dozing on a book.

Roxanne prodded at him hard, but he didn't stir.

"He's just a heavy sleeper." said Rose hurrying over. She took the back of his chair and pushed it, making it fall backward, and him to topple out of it.

"What?" he gasped.

"NO SLEEPING!" Rose shouted.

"SSSHHHHHH!" a girl breathed loudly from another table.

"OH PUT A SOCK IN IT!" she called back. "HE COULD DIE!" the girl slammed the book highly affronted and stormed out. The librarian didn't seem to be there.

"Okay guys, start searching. Manley for the Moonacher potion, and the Pinible draft." and they attacked the books furiously.

Rose quickly found the Pinable draft but when scanning the short article on the potion, she quickly decided that it wasn't Pinible. In two minutes, they were all sitting at a table reading quietly, the only noises were the turning of pages, and a small gurgling from next to her. She pulled off Maddox's hood to find him sleeping with his head on his elbow.

Rose pushed his elbow out from under him and he hit his head on the desk. Rose gasped, she hadn't meant to do that.

"Will you stop that!" he said furiously.

"Max you have to control yourself! I'm sure it Moonacher now, you're falling to sleep. If you fall into the enchanted sleep, there's nothing we can do for you."

"I'm not falling into the sleep!" he argued. Rose raised her eyebrows sternly. "We didn't get to bed until six last night and I woke at seven because of this." be pointed at him own blue face.

 _'SLAM'_

James shut a book abruptly. "What were you two doing up all night?" he asked madly looking wide eyed at both of them. "You're not snogging my cousin are you?" he asked Max hotly.

"Why does everyone keep thinking we're snogging?" Rose sputtered.

"Because you're never seen out of each other's sight." Fred chimed in.

"Harry and my mom were almost never seen out of each other's company and they weren't snogging!" Rose retorted.

"Completely different set of circumstances." said Roxanne.

"Are you snogging my cousin?" James asked again.

"NO!" Max finally yelled causing the talking to stop. "No I'm not kissing Rose- ew-"

"Wh-?"

"We had detentions, that's why we were up so late! For the love of Merlin will people stop sticking their noses where they don't belong!"

"Okay. . ." said James casually.

"Now that that's settled," said Victoire with her eyebrows raised amusedly. "I found something."

Everyone at the table leaned in as she read.

 _"Moonacher is a seemingly harmless potion if taken as vapor before bed. It is used to give the drinker a lucid dream, most commonly recommended for those who suffer from unbearable nightmares, to allow them to travel consciously into the subconscious to attack the root of the problem; physiologist's favorite potion._

 _When the drinker wakes, he or she will need to take the antidote quickly and not eat for an hour after._

 _However, if the potion is drunk undiluted, then the victim we receive a glowing skin and become very tired-"_

She broke off.

"But it says nothing about the blue."

"I can't explain that yet." said Rose. "Keep reading."

" _As the glow spreads throughout the body, a sleepy sensation begins to set in. When the entire body becomes illuminated, the victim can no longer resist the sleep and gives in. When they wake, they can no longer distinguish what's real or a dream. They will think that they are having a lucid dream. If not treated right away, the effect will become permanent. Once he or she wakes from their enchanted dream, only a great shock within the first thirty seconds will wake them."_

"But what's the antidote?" Molly asked.

"Vicky, check the back of the book." said James flipping the pages.

They all scanned the index with their heads pressed together.

"Guys, you're shadowing the page I can't see. Back off." Rose ordered.

Al reached behind him and pulled Maddox in the circle.

"Oh, there we go." said Fred as Max's blue glowing skin illuminated the page.

"Look." said Dominique sliding her finger to the bottom on the page.

" _For antidotes, please consult Piligan's Cures, by Piligan Pike."_

"Dominique go find the book." Rose ordered.

"Al and Roxanne, you'll brew the potion. James and Fred, you get the ingredients and material." she shoved the book that Dominique had just handed her into James chest. "Vicky, Molly, Scorpius, Dominique and I will go to the kitchen and speak to Yoman about the potion. Maddox, take off your shoes."

He did as she had asked and revealed ankles that were blue, but feet that were still tan.

"Okay, Max, keep your feet on this chair." said Rose. "They show us how much time we have. Molly, you keep him awake."

They all, very surprisingly, obeyed her every word. She held her head a bit higher, this felt really nice and she was sure that it would never happen again.

James and Fred opened the book and ran from the library. Because they had just finished potions class, Al took his small cauldron from his bag and set it up on the library table. Roxanne took a handkerchief from her own hair and used it to wipe out the residue of confusion concoction.

Molly took a seat next to Maddox and began asking him complicated questions that made Max go, "I- I don't- I don't know. What?"

Dominique, Victoire, Scorpius and herself hurried toward the kitchens.

"Who's Yoman?" Scorpius asked as they ran.

"He's a house elf." She replied. "He's one of the ones in charge."

"Why do you need to talk to a house elf?"

"To be sure that potion was Moonacher. We have to hurry, if it's not, we don't want the others wasting their time to brew the antidote."

"But," gasped Scorpius grasping a stitch in his chest. "How do you know a house elf would be able to-"

"I don't." she interrupted.

They ran down the stairs that led to the kitchens and stopped in front of the large painting of a bowl of fruit.

Victoire reached out a hand and tickled the pare which giggled and turned into a doorknob.

"What?" she asked pushing the door open. "Yeah I know how to get into the kitchens, Teddy and I used to. . . Uh, come on." and she dropped her statement to sprint into the room. The kitchens were a lot fuller now. Hundreds of house elves scuttled around, cleaning up Lunch dishes and were already starting on dinner.

"Excuse me?" Rose rushed over to an elf that was holding a clipboard and checking things off. "Can you tell me where Yoman is?"

"I isn't knowing Miss." the elf squeaked.

"Well is he working today?"

"Yoman works everyday Miss, more commonly night shift."

"Well when does night shift begin?" Rose asked desperately.

"It has already stared Miss."

"Okay." Rose turned toward the others. "We need to split up to look for Yoman. He's taller, has big ears, and a long nose."

"Seriously?" Dominique said looking around.

True, Rose's description had narrowed the elves down to less than half.

"He. . . uh," she strained to remember. "He had a red string tied around one shoulder of his tea cozy gown thing."

The others sighed and began their way through the waist high ocean of elves, tripping over many of them on their way.

It had been thirty minutes and no luck at all in finding Yoman. Rose was becoming frantic and snappish. They had looked all around the kitchen and in the gardens where Rose and Scorpius had to drag Victoire and Dominique from the enchanted peach trees.

Dominique kept holding up random elves as they were trying to do their work and would call,

"Rose! Is this him?"

Rose would have to keep shouting, "No its Not! Red string! He has a red string! And put that poor elf down!"

It finally came to it where Rose had to stand on one of the four mock house tables in the kitchen and bellow,

"OI! YOMAN!"

The entire kitchen fell silent as the elves stopped their work to look at her surprised.

"Yes?" came a squeaky voice that echoed around the room.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" she called.

"I is climbing down the ladder Miss."

Yoman's small body was finally visible climbing down a ladder in the very far corner of the room. He tried to make his way toward her but had to push and shove through the sea of other elves.

Dominique made her way over to him, picked him up and carried him over, placing him on top of the table with Rose.

The elf looked rather embarrassed and turned to the crowd to say,

"You is to be working now!" and the buzz broke out once again as the elves continued their work.

"Yoman?" Rose said bending down to speak to him. Victoire, Scorpius and Dominique scooted closer to hear. "That passage way in Gryffindor tower," she said. "It's booby-trapped, yes?"

"It is Miss, only from one side Miss." he responded.

The others finally got close enough to hear.

"What was the liquid that shot out?" she asked.

"You isn't being hit with it Miss?" he squeaked.

"No, no, not me. But someone was. What is the potion?"

"It is being Moonacher." he responded.

She didn't know whether to feel relieved to know what it was and to know that the others were on the right path, or more worried to find that it wasn't just a color changing potion.

"Then why is it blue?"

"It is being food dye Miss." said The elf. "To make the bad guy more noticeable."

"Bad guy?" Rose asked.

"Oh yes Miss." said the elf. "We is having that entrance locked except for Gryffindor elves."

"Gryffindor elves?" she asked.

"We don't have time for this." Victoire advised.

"The elves that clean the Gryffindor common room I is meaning. That's what I is having this red string for Miss." he plucked at the string on his sleeve. "All Gryffindor elves have the same red string. The trap is used to keep _anyone_ other than Gryffindor elves out, the trap is asking questions Gryffindor elves is knowing because that tunnel leads to. . . to. . ."

Yoman started hitting his head on the table saying, "BAD! BAD! BAD!"

"WILL YOU STOP THAT!" said Rose jerking him away without

yesterday's concern. "We don't have time for this Yoman!" she yelled.

Tears were starting to spill from his eyes and down his ugly nose.

"I is leaking Hogwarts secrets! I is not a trustworthy elf."

"Look Yoman." she tried again. "It's just Moonacher with blue dye right? Nothing else right?"

Yoman nodded.

Without another word, Rose leaped off the table and ran out of the kitchens with the others close behind her.

They sprinted into the library and Rose almost collapsed against the table; the others crashing into the back of her

The cauldron and everyone else was gone.

"Why would they leave without telling us?" asked Dominique.

"They wouldn't." said Rose looking around the table. "Al wouldn't."

She knew Al better than that, he would never just leave them blind, he would tell them. She was moving around books on the table and looking under papers.

"Start looking for something." she said. "Al would have left something."

The other began moving stuff around too.

"I found something!" said Scorpius who was under the table. He emerged with a wrinkled 'pull tap' origami paper fold. "It was stuck to a piece of gum on the bottom of the table." he said handing her the parchment.

She tore it open to read the words,

" _Where it was opened_ _."_ And in smaller writing at the bottom were the numbers," _1993_ _."_

"Augh, just like Al to talk in riddle." said Victoire.

"It's not a riddle." said Rose. "He's just telling us where to meet.

' _Where it was opened, 1993.'_ What was opened in 1993?" she asked obviously.

Dominique shrugged. "A door? I don't know."

"What? No, it's the Chamber of Secrets, it's- He wants us to meet in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

"Why didn't he just say that?" Dominique asked in disbelief.

"Because only an idiot wouldn't be able to answer that." Rose tried refolding the letter but gave up and left it on the table just in case Fred and James weren't back yet.

They finally reached a bathroom with a sign on the door that red,

' _Out of Order'_

And above the door were words that were clearly labeled,

' _Girl's.'_

Victoire and Dominique filed in and Rose stopped before entering to turn to Scorpius.

"Come on." she said.

"I'm not going in there, it's the girl's bathroom."

Rose was becoming too irritated with everything to hear it. She grabbed him by his green and silver tie, and drug him into the bathroom.

There, she saw Al and Roxanne above a sink with the cauldron stirring in ingredients, a floating flame had been light below for heat. Fred was peeling asparagus in the neighboring sink. Molly was looking sour leaning against the wall. James had an ice pack and was handing it to Maddox who was sitting against the wall with a swollen purple eye.

Max sat up abruptly when he saw Rose come in.

"Never," he said harshly. "Never put _her_ in charge of me _ever_ again." he was pointing at Molly who rolled her eyes and snorted.

"What happened?"

"First," Max said slapping the ice pack to his eye. "she bores me to sleep with a long winded explanation to why hair grows back thicker when you cut it, then she punches me in the face as soon as I close my eyes!"

"I didn't hit you _that_ hard." Molly said crossly.

"Wh-?" Max sputtered removing the ice pack and pointing at his eye.

"I tried to wake him calmly at first." she fussed. "But nothing worked. Even Al and Roxanne tried, so I panicked. His feet are blue Rose!"

Rose looked down seriously to see all but his big toe blue.

"Update Albus!" she snapped pointing at Al.

"We just added the asparagus heads." He said.

"We now have to wait five minutes." Roxanne finished.

"Augh!' Rose kicked the sinks but soon wished she hadn't because it really hurt.

"Temper, Rose." warned James.

"Shut it, James." she snapped back.

"The blue?" Max asked yawning.

"No yawning!" she snapped again, this time at Max.

"It's just blue dye." Scorpius assured him. "But a more pressing question, why are we in the girl's lavatory?"

"Because this is Moaning Myrtles bathroom." Fred explained.

"Moaning Myrtle is a very annoying ghost of a girl that died here a very long time ago. Nobody comes in here because they don't want her poking her head in the stall and complaining about death while you're trying to do your business. I think she's in the u bend right now thank god, so just keep your voices lowered."

This was the longest five minutes Rose had ever had to live through.

Finally, Al was adding a leathery peeling of some sort to the potion which smelled strongly of fish.

"Al?" Max asked holding his nose. "What is that?"

"You don't want to know." Al answered with Roxanne's handkerchief over his nose. Roxy's hair was now extremely frizzy due to the steam. Everyone in the room had abandoned their robes because of the sweltering heat.

"But I have to drink it," Max said. "Shouldn't I know-"

"Whatever it is, it doesn't matter." Roxanne interrupted. "Because look! We're adding honey!" she gagged. "I just hope it'll help this go down easier." she mumbled which no doubt carried across the silent room.

"Rose?" Al beckoned her forward. "Come tell me if this is the consistency of blood."

Rose walked over reluctantly, the smell was terrible. She peered into the cauldron to see a thick, grey, chunky potion that smelled like fish and rotting meat.

"Mm-hmm." is all she could utter.

Al took the cauldron off of the flame and placed it onto the stone floor.

"Come on now, give him some." said Rose.

"We can't." said Roxanne.

"We have to wait until its completely cool." James said.

"Rose!" she heard Max shout. Everyone turned to see him looking at his feet. They watched as the tan on his foot became completely blanketed in blue. Max's eyes began to droop and his head was now lolling up and down.

"Rose I- I don't-" his words became slurred and he collapsed.

Rose rushed over and shook him, but his head simply fell to one side.

She cursed loudly and shook him harder.

"No, no, no, no." she murmured. "Molly! Hit him again."

"I'm not doing that again." Molly said backing up.

Rose slapped him across the face feeling terrible about it; nothing happened. Her heart rate was getting steadily faster as she began to sweat frantically. She reached over and pulled the cauldron toward her burning her hand on the scorching metal.

"Rose no!" Fred shouted. "We don't know what that'll do to him!"

But she wasn't listening, she brought the spoon to Max's mouth and began force feeding him. Scorpius came quickly from behind and elevated his head while James held Max's mouth open.

"Rose, that's too much!" Al cried running over and knocking the spoon from her hand.

Victoire and Fred pulled Rose backward. This made her very angry. Did they really think that this was important right now? She fought against them hard, but Fred was holding her arm so tight it hurt.

"Rose, stop!" Fred was crying. "You could kill him!"

Then Maddox twitched, making everything in the room freeze where it was.

Rose fighting against Victoire and Fred who were holding her around the middle now, Scorpius loosening Max's tie, James holding his bleeding elbows which he had fallen on when Max moved, Roxanne holding her burnt hands because she had tried to move the cauldron, Dominique and Al on their hands and knees looking up from the book, and Molly against the wall with her hands over her mouth.

The bathroom door was swung open suddenly and everyone looked at a first year girl who had stopped dead, looked around at each of them, then slowly backed out closing the door behind her.

They all looked back at Max who slowly sat up and opened his eyes looking around at each of them.

"Did it work?" one of them asked.

"It couldn't have." said Dominique consulting the book. "We didn't wait till it was cool."

Max's face was becoming lighter, and his hair was turning green. Everyone in the room held their breath. He tried to stand, but toppled over, many pairs of hands reached out to catch him.

"Max?" Rose said cautiously.

He shook his head.

"Maddox can you understand me?" she tried again now shaking him by the shoulders.

Max shook his head more vigorously.

"Rose. . .?" said James from behind her. "Rose back up!" he shouted, taking her under the arms and wrenching her away because just at that moment, Max rolled over and vomited on Scorpius' shoes who gagged, then ran into one of the stalls; they heard more sick, not from Maddox.

"Come on! Get him up." Fred called helping him to his feet.

"Do you think it worked?" asked Roxanne.

"Well we didn't let it cool which wasn't a major key point in the recipe but no less important, that may explain the vomiting; it's not listed here in side effects." Al answered consulting the book, seemingly unworried my Max's illness at the moment. "However," he continued. "we can expect headaches, back pain, neck pain, cramping, difficulty sleeping and... ew. . ."

"We've gotta take him to the Matron." said Molly.

Max tried to stand up straight.

"No." he choked. "I'm fine re-"

But nobody believed him considering he toppled back over and vomited again.

"Al hand up the cauldron." said Victoire.

Al pulled a glass bottle from his school bag and ladled a bit of potion into it before dumping the rest into one of the sinks.

Victoire thrust the cauldron into his chest to catch his sick, and they all took him by the robes and led him out toward the hospital wing. Max's blue skin had faded and he was now turning a porridge white as they forced him onto a hospital bed.

The matron, a very old woman hurried out of her office to see what the noise was.

"What is this?" she called.

"He won't stop puking." said Dominique.

Madam Pomfrey looked at a very tired, very sweaty, and very ill Max.

"Abby?" she called. "Abby! Bring me that little brown box."

A rather pretty girl with long brown hair and who looked to be around eighteen came hurrying from the side room with a wooden box.

The Matron opened it and took a brightly colored toffee.

Fred gasped and pointed at the candy.

"Isn't that a puking pestle antidote?"

"That it is Mr. Weasley." she said not paying attention.

"You shop at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"

"I do Mr. Weasley. I find the merchandise to not all be a load of bother. Tell your dad from me-" she was saying as she thrust the unwrapped toffee into Max's mouth when he stopped to breathe. "-that I am really quite grateful for their shenanigans at school, it has blossomed into quite a helpful handful of treats used all about by healers. You know, they are even used at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?"

"Dad'll be interested to hear that." said Fred beaming.

Fred's dad, George, owned a joke shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes that he and his late brother had started over two decades ago. The store sold hundreds of varieties of jokes, tricks, pranks, and even candies that made people vomit, snot, take ill, grow boils, etc. Until the antidote is taken at least. Apparently the antidote candies were used in the real world by healers, doctors.

They had forgotten about Max for a moment, he wasn't making as much of a commotion. He had stopped vomiting and was now sitting on the side of the hospital bed looking uncomfortable.

"Aw, Mr-"

"Everard." he croaked.

"-Everard, do you feel anything coming up?" the Matron asked kindly.

He shook his head weakly.

"Well then, you should be good to go."

Max slid off the bed and made for the door followed by eight others.

"Thanks." Rose called back to Madam Pomfrey as they left.

They met Scorpius as they left the room, he looked out of breath and wasn't wearing his shoes. Max looked at him, then his bare feet.

"Sorry 'bout that." be muttered.

Scorpius took a deep breath.

"Nah, I'm just glad you're awake." he replied. "You _do_ feel better right?"

"Yeah, I'm not gonna puke on you again… not today at least." Max said smiling. Scorpius took to walking beside him and hit him on the back which almost made Max fall forward. It was obvious that he felt very weak and it was taking all he could to walk straight. He tried to hide it and smile, though Rose could see through the act.

"I think we could use some food." said James. "Do you think dinner's still on?"

Rose looked at her watch. "No" she said. "It ended a half hour ago. But I recon there'll still be food in the kitchen."

They made their way to the kitchens, Molly was disapproving of them going in there, after all it was off limits, but she was evidently too hungry to object.

The house elves set up a great meal for them of pork chops, green beans, and bread which they all ate gratefully. Rose spent the night talking to Yoman and trying to assure him that he wasn't a bad elf.

Fred and James amused all but Rose and Molly with their story of their adventure in getting the ingredients, apparently, it involved them – with a little help from the Flock – doing things that would have gotten them expelled in less than a minute. And all of them were tending to Maddox. They were serving him food, helping him get a grip on his cup, and encouraging him with smiles and pats on the back.

Max was extremely grateful he was beaming and trying to assure them that he could manage to take a drink by himself.

Al and Roxanne were probably in the highest spirits, bragging about their potion making skills.

"Yeah," Al was saying. "Next time someone turns blue just call us, we'll handle it. Just don't put Rose in charge. Honestly, you were turning scary." Rose smiled guiltily and apologized.

Dominique and Victoire excitedly told the rest about the gardens, Rose wished they hadn't. But they didn't know about the secret entrance through the ivy covered stone wall so that was going to stay her, Max, Scor and Al's little secret. But by the time the fun was over, it was far pass bed. Rose had Yoman lead them back through the tunnel to Gryffindor common room. Everyone was amazed, but Fred was looking rather glum.

"Really," he whispered to James through the echoing tunnel. "I've been here for five years, and she's been her less than two weeks and she knows more about the castle than I do, it's embarrassing."

Rose couldn't help but smile. Yoman led Al and Scorpius a different direction as they others clambered on top of the mantel piece. Rose heard the two boys' distant voices scream right before the stone opening closed behind them. The only person in the common room was Calvert who was sleeping in an armchair, good thing to, Rose and Max knew that if he saw, he wouldn't have shut up about it. But in all, this was quite an exciting day which held such events that nobody else in the school would ever know about.


	10. The First Match

" **R** ose!" Rose heard Al call her during breakfast the next morning and turned to see their usual happy faces emerging from a dark corridor, but today they didn't look happy, on the contrary, they look highly distressed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Al grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the breakfast table.

"Where's Max?" he asked looking around worriedly.

"He's still in his bed."

"But you've seen him?" asked Scorpius seriously.

"Yes, I sent him to bed because he still looked ill, why? What's this about?" she asked worriedly as well.

Al and Scor collapsed onto the Ravenclaw bench behind them and sighed half relived.

"Guys?" Rose snapped now angry that they had wound her up and dropped her again.

"Look," Al breathed, standing back up and grabbing her arms seriously. "when making the potion yesterday, Roxanne had forgotten to add a splinter of Rockshood."

"Would that make such a big difference?" she asked.

"Rose! It made all the difference in the world!" Al exclaimed grabbing his hair furiously. "I woke up in the middle of the night because something didn't feel right. I looked back into the antidote book and realized what we had forgotten! So I woke Scor and we-" he looked around to see if anyone was listening. "We snuck out to do some research in the library. Rosie, without the Rockshood, the bubbli pod's venom wouldn't be diluted! It would have still been poisonous! And letting the potion simmer would cause the venom to only grow stronger! We tried to buzz you through the mirror but you didn't pick up. So we ran to the portrait of the fat lady but she wouldn't let us in without the password!"

"Still be poison?" she blinked shaking her head. "What are you saying?"

"We're saying," Scor pushed forward and leaned in to whisper. "That Max should be dead." Rose backed up quickly. "He should have been dead within the hour, Rosie."

She ran from the hall as quickly as she could and within ten minutes, was running up the boy's staircase and into Max's room.

"Max!" she called shaking him. He woke startled and looked around hurriedly.

"There you are telling me too get a lot of rest because I look awful and you're the one waking me up." He said laying back down.

"Are you feeling alright?" she whispered.

"Not much different than I was twenty minutes ago." He yawned rolling over.

"Are you sure? You don't feel anything happening? Maybe something burning inside of you?"

Max turned over slowly with raised eyebrows. "Did you poison me?" he asked.

She sighed happily. "No," she smiled. "no I didn't. Calvert?" she asked the yellow haired boy who had been looking at them over his comic book.

"Are you staying up here for long?" she asked.

"Until I finish this probably." He said flipping through a rather thick portion of the comic.

"Okay, um, could you do me a favor and watch Max?"

"Why?" Asked Calvert suspiciously. "He's not doing anything interesting."

"Just, when he goes back to sleep, check every now and then to make sure he's still breathing."

Max sat up abruptly. "Still breathing!" he exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I still be breathing?"

"You're fine Max." she assured him not being too sure herself. "Just watch him okay?" she added to Calvert before getting up to head out.

"I can't sleep when I know someone is watching me!" Maddox called after her. "And thanks for the pleasant dreams you've just given me!"

She made it back to the Gryffindor table to hear the rush of wings that announced the morning post. Rose nodded to Al and Scorpius who had been waiting nervously and they both collapsed against each other in relief.

"But that doesn't make any sense." Said Al. "I'm pleased that he's not dead and all, but no human could have survived bubbli pods, thirteen of them!"

"Maybe you _had_ added the Rockshood." Rose suggested.

Al slid a small glass bottle that contained small fragments of white wood splinters across the table toward her. "The Rockshood was still in my robe pocket."

"For now, let's just be grateful that he's still alive." Scorpius reasoned.

Hundreds of owls came swooping down dropping packages, letters, and newspapers among the students. Fraunks received a package of sweets and candies and get well cards, most likely from his grandma. Since the event of yesterday with the singamigig, Fraunk hadn't been able to speak calmly, the effects were wearing off, now if he wanted to talk, he would have to sing the words he wanted to say which most people found very funny. They kept coming up behind Fraunk and making him angry so when he would turn to shout at them, his words would harmonize and become music. Not in the slightest bit, off putting. Fred and James did this more than anyone else though.

Two emerald green envelopes fell in front of both Scorpius and Al, and looking around the Slytherin table, identical envelopes fell in front of the others who had tried out for the Quidditch team.

"The results." said Scorpius looking at his letter. Al was finally distracted by the Quidditch results that he paused from his argument with Scorpius about the bubbli pods.

But their attention to their mail was interrupted by one red letter that fell between Fred and James. Rose recognized this as a howler, a letter that, parents mainly, could scream into, tie it up, and send their own bellowing voice to the student.

The howler was addressed to both Fred and James and had George's, Fred's dad's, handwriting was on the front. James opened it quickly because if he didn't, it would explode and the voice would echo to a hundred times its usual volume.

An eruption of noise came from the envelope making everyone in the hall turn, one boy spilled his oatmeal down his front when he jumped. First, Angelina, Fred's mother's, voice sounded.

"FRED WEASLEY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? HOW DARE YOU TEST THE TABLET ON ANOTHER STUDENT! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!"

Then Ginny voice took over.

"JAMES, I THOUGHT YOU KNEW BETTER! I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED! WE GOT A LETTER FROM PROFESSOR DONIMA SAYING THAT YOU POISONED A SLYTHERIN BOY!"

"TELL HIM THAT IF HE DOESN'T-"

Someone interrupted Ginny's voice.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP MOM! I HAVE THIS UNDER CONTROL!"

James' ears had gone red, but Fred had his head on his hands and looked bored. Most people in the hall had their hands over their ears.

Howlers were completely normal around the school, but since Fred and George were the first to receive one of the year, the first years had their ears covered and were starring horrified.

"YOUR FATHER WAS HORRIFIED WHEN WE GOT THE LETTER!"

Ginny continued.

"ACTUALLY I WAS REALLY QUITE-" Harry's voice was heard in the background, but was cut off.

"HARRY! DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!"

"OH, ARE WE ALLOWED TO TALK NOW?" George's voice was heard.

Fred sat up and suddenly looked interested.

"YOU GOT IT TO WORK! I AM SO PROUD! SEND ME A COUPLE WON'T YOU! I'LL TEST THEM OUT AND START DUPLICATING! THEY'LL BE A BIG HIT AT OUR JOKE SHOP! I NEED YOU TO START WORKING OUT AN ANTIDOTE ALRIGHT? I'M GONNA START ON- HEY- OW!"

"GEORGE! DON'T YOU ENCOURAGE HIM! THIS WAS A VERY BAD THING THEY'VE DONE!"

"ACTUALLY. . . " Harry chimed in again. "JAMES WASN'T _TECHNICALLY_ INVOLVED."

"HE HELPED MAKE IT!" Ginny bellowed.

"WELL, DARLING, YOU HAVE TO ADMIT IT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE."

There was a short silence, then Harry said,

"B- BUT OF COURSE IT WAS BAD, VERY BAD? BAD JAMES!"

"AUGH!"

"ANGILINA, I THINK WE'RE DONE WITH THIS NOW. HOW DO YOU TURN IT OFF?"

"OH, YOU HAVE TO CLOSE THIS LITTLE TAB HE-"

The letter cut off suddenly, then it exploded into a bunch of smoldering pieces.

The hall turned back around muttering.

"Well. . . " said James. "That was- hey, where are you going?" Fred had just gotten up from the table.

"I'm sending a couple singamigigs to dad." he answered not stopping. "Come on James I'll need your help with the antidote- Not for you Fraunk!" he shouted at Fraunk who had been watching with a scowl. "God knows you deserved what you got. Roxanne?" Roxy got up from the table to follow Fred, but not before saying to the other cousins still there, "They'd be lost without me."

"Al!" said Scorpius suddenly, "Our Quidditch try outs!"

They had completely forgotten about the emerald green envelope which were now under their napkins and goblet.

"Why are you just now finding out?" asked Rose.

"The Slytherin captain said he needed a day to evaluate the results of practice." said Scorpius tearing the letter open. "It was down to twelve of us when we headed back up to the castle."

Al lazily pulled a piece of parchment from the envelope. But Scorpius had already torn his paper out and was examining it.

"Read it." said Rose trying to peak over.

Scorpius read.

 _"_ _ **Chasers**_ _\- Wolin Warbeck_

 _Olive Farmore_

 _Quinn Stanley_

 ** _Beaters_** _\- Micheal Kennedy_

 _Angelo Stewart_

 ** _Keeper_** _\- Paul Keith_

 ** _Seeker_** _\- Albus Potter"_

There was an unpleasant silence.

"Oh Scor. " said Rose finally. "I- I'm sorry."

"Its fine. " said Scorpius far too quickly, shoving the slip of parchment into its envelope. "It's okay, honest." But Rose had a suspicion that Scorpius wasn't being honest.

"I-" Al gaped. "I made it."

"Good for you Al." said Scorpius more enthusiastically than his normal self, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm just glad one of us made it. I'll be cheering."

A large Slytherin boy passed the Gryffindor table at that moment and hit Al in the back of the head as he walked. Another boy hit Al just behind the first.

Rose stood looking furious, "Hey!" she called, rather lamely now that the word had escaped her mouth. But a hand reached up and pulled her down by her robes. Rose looked to see Dominique stand up and aim her wand at the first boy and quickly blasted him off his feet and a rabbit's tail sprouted through his trousers.

"Weasley!" called Professor Donima standing up.

Dominique ran out of the great hall laughing and Rose caught a snip of what Donima was muttering as she sped pass them,

"I swear- one more incident- I can't even- Weasley's."

Al was rubbing the back of his head.

"They're sore about you making the team instead of them." said Rose. "I saw that second one fly, dreadful."

The entire day was rather tense. Scorpius wasn't acting himself. He was smiling and talking like usual, but something wasn't right; it looked unnatural for him.

The three of them spent the morning walking around the grounds, and took refuge under an old tree. Scorpius was at the lake in the distance to practice his stone skipping he said.

"It doesn't make sense, Rosie." Said Al shaking his head. "Max shouldn't still be alive. He should have turned blue and collapsed, dead. But instead, be turned tan again and settled with throwing up and being weak? Weak? He should be in a grave right now, not sleeping."

"Albus, please stop." She whispered. The picture of Max turning blue and dying was awful.

"Unless he's a robot…" Al shrugged. "Has he ever shown any sign of cyborg activity? Maybe shown a wire?"

"I'll look it up." She said. "I don't understand it either. I'll try to figure this out, but for now, I'm taking Scorpius view on it of just being grateful. What's wrong with Scor though?" she asked.

Al looked at her in disbelief. "Gosh, Rosie, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. He's disappointed that he didn't make the team."

"Disappointed yeah, I knew that." she said. "But he's not acting it. It's not like things don't get to him, he was really torn up when he got that letter regarding his parents. But why if he pretending for us?"

"Rosie," Al sighed as if she was a poor child that he was trying to explain something very simple to; she didn't like that. "He's sour toward me because I made it and he didn't, it wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that I really didn't care if I got it or not. Well, I didn't until I got into the air where it just felt right. You didn't see him, he _really_ wanted to make it, like, really bad. He tried so hard, a lot harder than me, but I beat him. This is not like his parents – who made up by the way, so we heard – he feels bad for being angry at me because he knows that I didn't do anything wrong. And he wants to be a good friend, I don't think he had many real ones back home."

"Well why don't you talk to him about it?" she asked.

"I don't think that'll be a very good idea." said Al.

"Well if you don't then I will." Rose took to her feet and started toward Scor who was skipping stones incredibly well and very hard. Al reached out and grabbed her by the hem of her robes.

"Al, I hate it when you do that!" she said pulling her uniform from his fist.

"Well tough, you do it to everyone else." he said. "And I said it's not a good idea. I think it's apparent that I know Scor a bit better than you do. The best thing to do when he's upset is to just wait for it all to blow over."

Rose sat back down with her arms crossed. "I hate waiting."

"Why you're not a Hufflepuff." said Al who had been stringing dandelions together for the past five minutes; it was now over a meter long.

"What are you going to do with that?" she asked.

"Probably leave it here for a first year girl to find. " he said lazily.

"Hey look. " Rose was pointing toward the lake where Scor was. Poppy was striding toward him. They began to talk.

"Who's that?" asked Al squinting.

"That's Poppy Parkinson." Rose replied. "You know, the ray of sunshine from the train."

Her and Scorpius' conversation started to become less casual and more loud. Their arms were flying around as their voices became harsh, though the words were indistinguishable. Rose and Al had gotten to their feet and started to make their way forward. They weren't the only ones, half the students on the grounds were now gathering around. Rose and Al were almost on top of them when there was a bright flash of red light from Poppy's wand, and Scorpius was flung backward onto the grass.

Rose whipped out her wand and aimed it furiously at Poppy. She shot a jelly legs jinx that Poppy blocked spectacularly. In turn, she shot more red light at Rose who dodged it. And a miniature version of a duel broke out between them. Al hadn't brought his wand and Scor was still laying in the grass fighting furiously against something. This girl was very good. Rose kept her poker face, but wouldn't admit that she was worried. She was running out of hexes that she knew she could perform perfectly, she knew many more but she had also thought she knew the shrinking spell, she didn't want another Cromwell incident with Poppy. Rose was hit in the knees and felt them slam together painfully. She toppled backward as her legs were slowly being glued together. Al ran over and moved Rose's robes to see the damage. Poppy raised her wand at both of them again smiling.

Rose wasn't even able to shout at Al to move before a blinding yellow light erupted through the crowd and Poppy was lifted off her feet and swatting desperately at thin air. Her hair was flowing about and her clothes were floating around her eerily. She was holding her breath and opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Everybody turned to see Max, striding forward from a great distance with his wand pointed at her. Poppy was looking at him wide eyed in horror but unable to speak.

"You're dry swimming, well, drowning." said Max who flicked his wand causing her to start rotating slowly. "I don't know how long you can hold your breath." he said. "I don't know why I'm talking to you anyway; you can't hear a word I'm saying can you? Probably sounds all muffled."

"Max?" said Al worriedly watching her gag.

Maddox flicked his wand again and she fell to the ground completely dry, coughing.

"You're going to use the counter jinx on them right?" he said with his wand pointed at her.

She bared her teeth in a mix of fury and fear. Max raised his eyebrows and she reached for her wand that she had dropped and pointed it at Scor muttering something. Scorpius gasped and sat up. She pointed it at Rose who felt her legs separate and she could move again.

"Now I want to go away knowing," Max started, his wand still pointing at her, "that if you bother one of us, three more will be out for your blood." Poppy scowled and scrambled to her feet, storming away.

There was a long silence as the crowed gaped at him. Max folded his hair behind his ears, tucked his wand back into his robes and strode through the crowd without a word.

Rose, Al, and Scorpius got up and hurried after him.

Rose didn't know whether to be grateful or scared. That bit of magic he did, looked dark and she wasn't comfortable with that. She chose to be amazed, something that both the emotions had in common.

"See you're feeling better." said Al. "Good. . . Do you fell alright? Don't feel hot? Perhaps like somethings burning in you?"

Max stopped and looked from Al to Rose and back. "Should I be worried or are you guys just trying to scare me out of my wits?"

"What the heck was that?" asked Scorpius catching up.

"Dry Drowning." he responded while walking by a Slytherin first year girl running with a three-foot-long dandelion chain. "It will cause a drowning sensation without actual water."

"Can people die with that curse?" Rose asked worriedly.

Max shrugged. "Dunno, never held them there long enough."

"Max that was dark magic wasn't it? You could have really hurt her." said Rose.

"Oh calm down." said Max. "She's fine, I know what I'm doing."

"But that was _dark_ magic, Max. Wasn't it?"

"Probably. " he said, "It's a curse passed down from my dear mum's side."

"I've never read about it." she said.

"Well you wouldn't have would you?" he said. "Our family invented it. Ambitious my mum, she loved to invent, to create, to _test_ her creations. There's a load of stuff I know that I probably shouldn't at my age."

"I think it was brilliant. " said Scorpius. "She deserved it."

"You don't like her _that_ much?" said Al.

"She said things. " he replied. "Things that would have earned her a broken nose in Gryffindor tower."

Scorpius didn't seem as sour toward Al; the events of the afternoon took his mind away from Quidditch it seemed. Max and Al were just as normal, but Rose was still very disapproving of the curse. She told him that if a teacher had seen him, he'd have been expelled. Scor assured Max that he wouldn't be in trouble. Apparently Poppy's parents were too busy for her most of the time anyway and they wouldn't take any action toward the event. And that they probably wouldn't believe her because she's a no good liar, and that if it did ever come back to him, he would just deny it. To that Max told them that he tried to avoid lying when he could, he wasn't very good at it.

Rose had Quidditch practice the next morning. It was a lot more difficult to get up so early in the morning than she had thought. She didn't wake to the alarm that Professor Kemp installed in her watch. And it was only by James having to come to her dormitory with his eyes shut and prod her awake, that she got up.

"Oh, he's cute." Danielle said before the door shut.

"How'd you get up the girl's staircase?" Rose asked sleepily putting her hair in a ponytail, unaware that she was using a rubber band instead of a hair tie. "The staircase is supposed to be protected against boys, the stairs are supposed to turn to a slide or something."

"Yeah they did." he said. "I had to fly up." he held up his broom. "I'm not doing that every other day you know? You're gonna have to start getting up yourself, you're a big girl now."

Quidditch practice was as wonderful as she had hoped. Rocky's introduction was short and sweet, and he wasted no time in having them take to the air. The individual flying was spectacular; it was working as a team that they had to practice. Training ended hours later with everyone very sore, but feeling rather good about themselves. Practice ran late so the whole team missed breakfast. Al, Scor, and Max had come to watch the end after breakfast, and it was when James complained loudly about his empty stomach that they three boys remembered. They pulled from their bags, two containers overflowing with food they had brought down for Rose and James from breakfast. The smell no doubt wafted to the other team members undressing from their Quidditch robes and it wasn't thirty seconds before the whole team, including Rocky, had swarmed over like seagulls and attacked the food. Rocky's discomfort with two Slytherin boys watching them practice was thrown over his shoulder with the arrival of breakfast.

"Sorry team." said Rocky, eating an apple. "Practice won't last that long every time."

But it did, every other day was the same. Practice would last an hour and a half longer than it was supposed to, Al. Scor, and Max bringing them breakfast every morning. Through the weeks, the portion they would bring grew steadily larger until one morning, they showed up with an entire ham.

"What's this!" exclaimed Isaac Fisher when they pulled it from their bags.

"We were told off for taking so much food," Al said pouring pumpkin juice into nine goblets. "so we went to the kitchens and they gave us this."

Breakfast became more of a picnic in the stands, becoming more and more classy over the days.

Rose enjoyed these breakfasts more than when she got to eat in the great hall. Scorpius, Al and Max became very well liked among the team and were called Gryffindors breakfast hero's.

But for life inside the castle, it was becoming more and more taxing. They had classes every other day which were becoming steadily more difficult, and they were given such an incredible load of homework that the rest of the day was spent in the library studying until they had to split for their common rooms where they'd study more. Rose was very good at school but lacked accomplishment in Astronomy, which she wasn't too upset about. She didn't plan on becoming a seer or anything. Max agreed to do her Astronomy homework if she would help him with Transfiguration. Albus pretty much did everyone's potions homework, everyone except Rose who could manage. Max could too but he wasn't about to lose the opportunity for someone else to do his homework. Really it was just Scorpius that _needed_ help.

She hardly had time to look up Max's unbelievable recovery from the Moonacher antidote. She and Al would spend hours in the Library with piles of books, researching. They would switch back and forth between school books and books on healing, healers, remarkable recovery, potion ingredients, Rockshood, bubbli pods, but they never found the answer. Rose had told Max about what had happened and asked why he wasn't dead which he didn't take very lightly to. He assured her that he didn't know why he didn't die and to not complain. He suggested that perhaps metamorphmagus's have naturally quick healing powers which she had already looked up and found to not be the case. The had gotten in a fight after Rose had cut him with the tip of her quill accidentally on purpose, and was shocked to find that the scratch wasn't even there the next morning which bothered Al a lot more than herself.

She and Al were taking all the work harder than anyone else. They both had Quidditch practice early in the morning; Al had it the days Gryffindor didn't, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw took practice in the evenings.

Scorpius was no longer very disappointed that he didn't make the team. Max reckoned that he didn't envy Al's exhaustion, Rose agreed.

October approached and the first match of the season was in two weeks. Both teams found it odd to start the season so early, Quidditch didn't usually start until November. Stress was running high among both the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams who were playing against each other first as usual at Hogwarts.

Gryffindor trained harder and longer than Slytherin did, but Slytherin had a system about their training that enabled them to get the practice they needed to finish on time and always make it for breakfast. Al refused to tell Rose the system no matter how hard she begged.

"I would be betraying my team." he said in a whisper. "I care more about my loyalty than that."

"God you should have been a Hufflepuff." said Rose before being called out in Transfiguration.

"Where's the third breakfast hero?" asked Watson Trout after practice, taking a seat in the stands to eat.

"He's getting ready for practice." said Scor.

"Practice for what?"

"For Quidditch." said Scor in surprise. "He's on the Slytherin team."

Rocky spit his bacon onto the ground. "He's what?"

"He's. On. The. Slytherin. Quidditch. Team." said Max very slowly.

"I didn't know that." said Alexander Hubert. Rocky sighed.

"First I lose my brother to that team, now one of my breakfast boys. . . is he any good?"

Scorpius nodded, "Unfortunately for you, yes. He is a Potter after all."

"He's a Potter? Like Harry Potter." Rocky gasped.

James, Rose, Scor, and Max looked around at them, "You're all very behind aren't you." said Max.

Rocky slapped a hand to his forehead. "I've had a Harry Potter's son serving me breakfast all these weeks?"

"He's Albus." said Scor slightly upset. "He's Albus Potter, and I'll expect you to treat him like an individual, he's not just Harry Potter's son."

"But why are they practicing today?" Rocky asked. "They have practice tomorrow."

"They're practicing everyday now." said Scorpius.

"Every day?" this seemed too much for Rocky. "Now we're gonna have to start practicing everyday too!"

"Oh no we're not!" Trout exclaimed. "We're already training harder and longer than they are! You're gonna kill us Pax!"

"We are not losing to the Slytherins!" he called suddenly angry. "This isn't just house competition; this is sibling rivalry."

" _Your_ sibling rivalry!" said Fisher. "We won't have any time let alone energy for school if you train us like this!"

But Paxton Rockward wouldn't have it. He did start training them every day, four hours a day. They're skill and teamwork was flawless, but Rocky wouldn't cease. One week before the match, Rose was horrified to find the whole team outside her window at twelve at night in the pouring rain. They were all on their broomsticks and Rose had to grab her Quidditch robes, take her Nimbus 2001 that her parents had sent her when finding out that she made the team, and in her pajamas, she flew out of the window.

"He wanted us to be prepared for every type of weather." said James from the other side of the door while she was getting dressed in the changing rooms. "The team is trying to hatch a plan of murder for him."

Rose emerged fully dressed, wet and freezing. James handed her the broom and they both took to the sky to join the others in the pouring rain.

"He what?" asked Al during Lunch the day before the match.

"Yeah." said Rose. "And it wasn't until we got back to the castle that we found out that he didn't have permission to practice after hours. He's planning on doing it again tonight. "

"But you can't!" protested Scorpius. "Look at yourself! You don't even look like you've woken up properly."

It was true. She had bags under her eyes and winced when she had to move because her muscles were so sore. It was easy to spot the Gryffindor team. They were the ones walking with their arms by their side like zombies, would scream whenever someone bumped them in the hallway, would jump behind a tapestry when they heard someone say Rocky or even just the word Rock, and Hubert was the one with his head in his porridge at the moment.

"I'm sorry Max, but I can't help you with your Transfiguration homework tonight." said Rose.

"Of course not!" he said. "I wouldn't let you now anyway. I'll still do your Astronomy though."

It was only because of her friends that she was even passing classes right now. The only subjects she was able to do on her own at the moment was Charms and D. A. D. A. Max and even Scorpius picked up their own Potions homework so Al would have time to help Rose with History of Magic. Every night before, Rose would try as hard as she could to do her school, but would fall asleep in the armchair by the fire to find her finished homework on her lap with Max's handwriting.

Practice that night was unbearable. The high winds were why Rocky wanted them practicing. The quaffle kept being blown out of the chaser's grip or blown away from the goal hoops. The only good thing about the wind was that the snitch was easy to find. It was blown around and hit Rocky in the forehead then fell down his turtle neck. The team watched amused as Rocky had to dance it out.

Rose woke early the next morning. Today was the day! The very first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin! However, Rose was not excited or nervous. She was just eager for it to be over, for them to have at least one week of relaxation. Breakfast that morning was among all the other school's excited chattering and all wearing the colors of the house they were going to support. Many with flags and banners, face paints and rosettes. The rest of the team were already at the table in their Quidditch uniforms, all looking like they felt the same way Rose did about the match. Max sat down beside her, his hair was red and gold, his whole face was covered in paint and he was carrying a Gryffindor flag and had a side bag full of snacks. Rose couldn't help but smile, the first one she had done in weeks she realized. Rocky was the only one who looked scared.

"Do any of you feel like your arms are gonna fall off?" he asked in a whisper to the others.

They all slowly looked at him scowling, any quick movements were painful.

"Yes. " said James thickly.

The Slytherin team walked from the great hall, none of them catcalling or jeering. Al had sat separately from Rose for the first time all semester and grinned broadly and waved at the Gryffindor team as he left the hall. The Gryffindor team grinned and nodded back; they tried not to use their arms if they could help it. Rose peered over heads to see Scorpius, he was wearing his usual Slytherin robes, but he chalked his hair half green half silver for the occasion and was smiling excitedly. He joined the Gryffindor team when Al left and was rather easy to spot, being the only bit of green on that side of the hall. The other Gryffindors didn't give a second look, they had become used to Al and Scor sitting by them.

Rocky called the team from the hall a little while later and they all groaned as they stood up from the bench. Half of the Slytherin table jeered at them and shook their fists as they walked by. Rose was really angry with Rockward because of the pain that he had inflicted on her. The team felt the same. Most of the hall cheered for them as they left.

"Oh shut up." mumbled Rose. James laughed, then held his ribs painfully.

The day was cloudy and windy. There was a slight chill to the air now. The ground was still a bit soft from the rain a couple night ago but otherwise okay. The stands were overflowing with cheering crowds all supporting their favorite team. Rose couldn't see into the stands properly from the distance, but because she couldn't see any green in the Gryffindor side, or any red on the Slytherin side, she assumed that Max and Scor had split up.

The Slytherin team walked onto the pitch first under cheering. Al was beaming excitedly gripping his broom. Gryffindor walked on next, more cheering. The captains were asked to shake hands by Madam Hooch who was refereeing. Keith and Rockward walked up and grabbed hands.

"Mount your Brooms!" called Hooch. The Gryffindor team bit their tongues to keep from screaming as they were forced to straddle their brooms. The Slytherin team looked at them slightly worriedly. Rose and Al made eye contact and Al took a deep breath and smiled nervously.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the teams took to the sky. She then released the bludgers, snitch, then one, two, three, threw the quaffle into the air, and the game begun.

Everyone took off so fast that it almost unseated her.

"And they're off! First game of the season! Should be exciting!" Fred's voice erupted from the commentator's box.

"What speed they have! Both teams have gotten their practice! What do you reckon Fred?" Rose looked into the box to see Roxanne there too with a second mic.

Rose intercepted the quaffle from Warbeck and passed it to Trout.

"Well, Roxy," Fred was saying. "It'll be a tough call. The Gryffindor team has been training nonstop for weeks, but the Slytherins have a secret system."

"Whatever it is Fred-" said Roxanne. "It's paying off! On both sides. Gryffindors advantage, their experience, Slytherins advantage, Gryffindors apparent exhaustion!"

The Gryffindor team was moving seamlessly passing again and again, back and forth all the way across the pitch until Rose was right on top of the goal hoop, readying to make the first shot. Her arm muscles screamed in protest as she released the ball. The speed of the quaffle was lacking, and easily blocked by Keith. Stanley from the Slytherin team swooped down to retrieve it, and made an incredible shot pass James.

"And Stanley makes the first goal of the season!" cried Fred. "Congratulations, Stanley!"

James was looking furious, not at Stanley, but at Rocky.

Everyone else of the team seemed to have the same idea as James. They all, including Rose, thought it was Rockward's fault for their poor playing this match.

"And we have Trout with the quaffle," Roxy said. "Trout passes it to- Oh! intercepted by Farmore, who passes it- intercepted by Weasley! This is incredible! Oh! Dropped the quaffle while dodging a bludger hit by Kennedy!"

"You watch out, Kennedy!" Fred yelled into the mic. "That's my little cousin!"

"Quaffle retrieved by Trout! He shoots, he scores!"

Rose was hardly able to watch what was going on in the rest of the game; chaser had her constantly on her toes. Bludgers were flying everywhere, there were only two but when they attack you, it's quite frightening. She looked up and saw, near the Slytherin goal hoops, the snitch. She spun on her broom to see Rocky completely oblivious the snitch, he was zooming around at the other side of the pitch. Rose called to him, but was too far for him to hear and had to catch the quaffle and throw it to Fisher. Rose whistled to Stewart, the beater, and called,

"Let him have it!" Stewart nodded and hit a bludger at Rocky.

"Did Weasley just instruct their beater to aim a bludger at their own captain?" Roxy shouted standing up.

"Well it certainly looks like that!" said Fred. "Perhaps his training methods were too aggressive for them. Do you think they finally snapped, Roxy?"

"I hope not!" she said. "This early in the season? It'll make for trouble!"

Rocky dodged the bludger and spun 'round to face Stewart who pointed at Rose. She threw her arms out indicating _1_ and _12_ on a clock then screamed. "3 o'clock!"

Rocky nodded and sped toward 7. This was _their_ code. Opposites. Because Al who had been watching, sped toward 3, in the opposite direction of the snitch. They had created this system after finding out that Al was on the Slytherin team and always rehearsed it before he arrived.

Rose was sucked back into the game with the arrival of the quaffle. And it was back on. The Slytherin team was sensational. Their flying was seamless and they moved like they were in water, smoothly. Something whizzed pass her ear, brushing her hair, it was the snitch. She had to dive to avoid being hit by Al who was in hot pursuit, Rocky right behind. She smiled. The commentary was still going on, but what Fred and Roxy were saying was lost in the commotion of the game. Rose had made three scores herself. It would have been more but Gryffindor team seemed slower than during practice. Their throws were weaker and beaters hit the ball softer than they should. It was Gryffindor seventy to Slytherin ninety. Rose blocked Warbeck from scoring when an eruption of noise startled her so much that she dropped the quaffle. But nobody swept down to retrieve it, Roxanne and Fred were both yelling, "He caught it! He caught it!"

Rose turned to see which one had got the snitch and saw Al beaming with his fist clinched around something small and shiny. The Slytherins were screaming their approval.

"Slytherin wins! Aw, tough luck Gryffindor!"

"That's my cousin everyone! That's my other little cousin!" Fred called.

Everyone hit the ground, James, Stewart and Hubert collapsed to the ground when they landed.

Rose couldn't even see Al through the entire Slytherin team grabbing him and hoisting him onto their shoulders cheering.

She stood there for a moment looking at Al and she was happy. James walked next to her and attempted putting his arm on her shoulder but grabbed it in pain and decided otherwise.

"He did well. " said James looking up at him.

"Well?" she exclaimed. "He was brilliant!"

"Yeah, I just wish he was brilliant for _us_."

They turned to head toward the changing rooms, thinking it be best to leave this moment to Al. They hadn't gotten two paces before a voice sounded behind them.

"Let me down! Okay that's enough! I said drop me Farmore!" they turned to see Al push through the crowd and run at them. He positively jumped with glee.

"I did it!" he exclaimed. "I caught my first snitch!"

"And it won't be your last, I swear!" said Rose embracing him. James ruffled his hair and smiled.

Al was knocked out of her arms by a green and silver blur. Scorpius had tackled Al to the ground cheering, soon joined by Max who still looked like a walking canvas and was trailing popcorn behind him. The Slytherins stood back and watched confusedly as Al was devoured again, this time by the Gryffindor team.

Al had to go with the Slytherins who insisted on throwing a celebration. The rest of the Gryffindor team left for the changing rooms now rather quiet. They began to slip their boots off as Rocky entered the room.

"So we lost." he said obviously. The team scowled at him. He looked from one to the other. "And-" he continued. "and I'm not about to pretend that it wasn't my fault." the team snorted. "I trained you guys too hard, you had no energy or strength. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." they looked around at each other, knowing that his promise would fall flat. But they looked back at him slightly softer.

"Back to every other day?" asked James.

"I still want to throw in an evening practice." he said. The team nodded and flew back to the castle, being too soar to walk anyway.

Rose entered Gryffindor tower to find people looking rather glum.

"Aw better luck next time."

"You did your best."

"Next time, next time for sure."

"At least you didn't lose to Hufflepuff."

Were the kind of things other Gryffindors were saying to them as they trooped into the common room. Many people hit them on the back encouragingly which hurt very badly. James jumped away from someone trying to do this and shook their hand instead.

The Gryffindors seemed much more upset about the loss than the team did. The team slowly sat in comfy armchairs and sofas and sighed happily, closing their eyes.

Rose smiled thinking about Al and the Slytherin party raging many floors below them. She just hoped that he was having the time of his life.


	11. Rocky Ramification

**O** ctober became colder and the leaves from all the trees around were becoming lovely shades of orange, red, yellow, and dull browns that littered the cobble stone paths. The lake became too cold to swim in anymore and students now walked to and from all bundled up in hats and scarfs.

Hagrid could be spotted outside most of the days, sweeping the leaves from the roads and heading in and out of the gardens. Rose, Max, Scorpius, and Al visited Hagrid much more often. He always had a fire lit in the fireplace and they were always somehow roped into helping him with chores after a few, nicely softened, pieces of fudge. They were willing to do them because occasionally the chore had them enter the Forbidden Forest to collect things like a certain kinds of moss or to find tiny creatures nestled in tree trunks. The forest was always really dark and creepy. Large tree trunks littered the dirt floor and large shapes would glide by causing them to turn worriedly. Hagrid always stayed with them, mostly because he would have to keep pulling Max back by the collar to keep him from sneaking deeper into the forest where they all knew nothing good lurked.

But more often than not, they were carrying things to and from the castle. Today, they were hauling seat warmers to the Quidditch pitch. Rose and Max would try to levitate them, so they wouldn't have to be carried. But they were only able to levitate three at a time which made the work slower. Scorpius' idea of transfiguring them to be buttons was a very good one and he was successfully able to carry a pocket full around, until he realized that he couldn't change them back properly and had to bring them to Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses who was happy to change them back. Al just laughed at their feeble attempts and was more than happy to carry arm loads up.

Hagrid insisted on paying them for their work and wouldn't take no for an answer. Their payment ended up being a fruitcake. They spent their days in the Library most of the time. Their homework hadn't stopped. Scorpius was helping Max in Transfiguration, and Max had actually become so determined in having them understand or at least appreciate Astronomy, that he had them, every night fly to the castle roof with notebook and pen to study. This was easy for Max and Rose because they simply had to fly out their window, it was more difficult for Scorpius and Al who had to sneak up at least thirteen stories to even get to a window. But Scorpius' marks were showing that the risk was worth it. Al however, would fall asleep on the roof most nights. Max was a very passionate tutor and Rose was glad that Astronomy was the only subject that he could really help them on. She was scared to think what he would do to them if they needed help in Transfiguration.

A buzz was spreading throughout the castle ever since a pamphlet on the notice boards announced the first Hogsmeade weekend approaching on 31, October. Hogsmeade was a local, all magic town that all third years and above were permitted to visit a couple times a year. This didn't stop James of course, though he was only in his second year, he had taken his father's old Marauders map and used it to navigate his way from the castle to Hogsmeade.

The Marauders map was a very old bit of parchment that when spoken the magic words, _"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."_ Will become a map of Hogwarts and what made it extra special, was that in tiny miniscule writing, were the names of every person in the castle and where they were in it. When spoken the words, _"Mischief Managed."_ The map would become nothing but a spare bit of blank parchment again.

Teddy was really the one who had nicked it for James and made him swear that he would never be up to any good. James refused to let Rose tag along, but she threatened that if he didn't, she would tell Harry that James had takenit in the first place.This was an empty threat because she was sure that he already knew. Max, Rose, Scorpius and Al were extremely excited about their first trip two years early. James was furious that Rose had invited her entire fleet where she told him that if one of them is included you should automatically assume that the others are too, they're a package deal.

"How _are_ we getting to Hogsmeade?" Max asked as they emerged stretching after a particularly dull History of Magic lesson.

"There's this statue of a one eyed witch on the first floor." said Rose yawning. "We'll each enter and follow a tunnel there."

"I just don't see how we're gonna get away with this." Said Max. "I mean our height alone will give us away, not to mention our faces. Sure over half the school will be there, but someone is bound to notice us. We're not all exactly nobodies. You and James are on the Quidditch team which already makes you guys popular. Al is on his and Scorpius is a Malfoy. I can change my appearance at will so I'm not in much trouble."

"Height is not a big deal." Said Rose thinking. "Fritz is about our height and he's a fifth year."

"Yeah, but is someone finds his height suspicious, closer inspection would assure them that it was Fritz. That won't be the case with us."

"Don't be a worry wart. We'll figure it out."

But they hadn't figured it out. Days were spent in the Library trying to find magical solutions to change their appearance.

"Here's a hair color changing hex." Said Al.

"I already know how to do that; I just can't get the color out myself." Said Rose who was becoming more and more irritable the less they found. She kept pulling books from their shelves, flipping through them and replacing them, wondering how in the world anyone was ever able to find anything in thousands of books stacked to the ceiling in a maze.

"This one can change your whole face!" said Scorpius excitedly.

"Turn the page, Scor." Said Al tiredly flipping to the next page where the article was cut off. The next picture showed a man being blasted in the face and in excruciating pain. "Yeah, no. You're looking at curses."

"Didn't hurt to look." Said Scor putting the book back on the shelve.

"We can always use polyjuice potion." Said Max, lazily flipping through. _Potions for a Pure Mind._

"We can't just _brew_ polyjuice potion." Said Al irritable slamming shut _Magical Remedies._ "That can take months, not to mention it's illegal."

They had spent four hours in the Library that day, worse for Rose was that it was four hours they could have been doing homework which they were behind on. Two days before the first Hogsmeade weekend, the friends were starting to fear that they may just have to wait until third year. However, luck arrived when Rose, for the first time, read the Hogsmeade notice.

 _"_ _The first Hogsmeade weekend will be held on 31, October for third year and above who have signed permission forms._

 _No form, No entering the village, No exceptions!_

 _I will have you know that Honeydukes sweet shop is having a promotion weekend. For those customers who dress in costume, will receive a dozen éclairs free of charge! Come dressed up if you are willing._

 _-E. Dalbert."_

Rose almost jumped out of her socks she was so excited! They'd go in costume! They would find a costume to cover their face! It was so simple! She ran over to Maddox who was reading and jumped on the couch with him, knocking the book from his hands.

"That's alright," he said. "I wasn't reading that or anything."

Rose bent low and whispered her idea to him.

"I just don't know where we're gonna find a costume that covers our face in time." She said putting her head on her hands and thinking.

"That's alright," said Max. "I do. Hey, Micah!" he called.

A first year boy with sandy blonde hair and a crooked smile and who had been knitting next to the fireplace, looked up when his name was called. Max gestured him over and smiled.

"Hey Micah, I was wondering, oh, yeah, this is Rose." He remembered.

Micah held out his hand for her to take and quite abruptly said, "Hi, Rose, I'm Micah. You're very pretty."

She was taken aback by the compliment but didn't have to answer because Max intervened.

"Yeah, yeah, look, Rose wants to see your masks. She is interested in some art."

"Really?" said Micah looking thrilled. "Do you do crafts too?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded. "I make masks too."

"Who's artistry to you follow?"

"Uh, Monet?" she said the first painter to come to her mind.

"Really?" said Micah looking confused. "On a mask?"

"Yup." She nodded, realizing that this was the wrong answer but going along with it anyway, with a small scowl at Max who was forcing her to improvise. "I find that style to be… freeing."

"On a mask?"

"Okay, cool!" said Max clapping his hands together. "We all know each other. May we see your collection now?"

"Oh, sure! But I'll have to bring it down, she's not allowed upstairs I don't think."

"Nah, she's been up there before, come on." Said Max pushing Rose up from the couch, then hurrying up the stairs after Micah.

Rose was distracted when starting up the stairs, by a large pile of paper and books that were breathing. With closer inspection, she found that it was James.

"Why weren't you at dinner today?" she asked moving a piece of paper from his face.

James gestured impatiently at the large mess around him.

"Quidditch finally getting to you?" she asked pulling a quill from his hair.

"Uh, yeah." He said not looking up. "Don't pretend you're not behind on work either though. But this isn't school."

"So your studying for fun?" she asked apprehensively.

"Of course not!" he pointed toward the armchair he was leaning against. On it was a cauldron that was puffing purple smoke. Fred and Roxanne were bending low over it, many singimigig tablets around, some crushed or powdered.

"It's taken this long for you guys to create the antidote?" she asked James again.

He snorted. "Rosie, it took all summer to create the thing itself. Antidotes are usually harder too. Fraunk is still singing."

"Rose!" she heard Max call from up the staircase. She decided to leave James alone for a while and hurried up toward the boy's dormitories.

She swung the door open to find Max and Micah on a bed with an open suitcase, and Calvert on the floor doing homework.

Micah's entire living area looked like a supply store. Every inch of wall around his bed was plaster in paintings, drawings, and posters. He had string hanging from his ceiling while yarn, beads and ribbon hung from his drawer.

"Hey!" said Micah pulling her by the hand closer to see the collection. "I follow Rolfish's style of weaving in my work but go by Sythia's painting techniques."

She had expected the masks to be childish and plastic or perhaps made from cardboard, but they weren't, not in any way. What she was looking at was a variety of real, elegantly made, detailed, masks.

"You _made_ all of these?" she asked in disbelief.

"Not all of them." He replied with a grin at her stunned face. "My dad made those two and my mom started on the base for that one, but the rest, yeah I did."

"And you're only first year."

"Yeah, but I've been doing this since I can remember. My dad owns a theater and my mom's a costume designer, so I've grown up around this sort of stuff my whole life."

"When do you have time to make these?"

"Every night until two in the 'flippin morning." Said Calvert without looking up.

"You wanna try one on? I wouldn't try that one, that's made of paper Mache and might break."

She took a navy blue one with silver detailing and a large peacock feather on the side and slipped in over the top half of her face. Micah couldn't look happier.

"So?"

"It's comfortable." She said.

"Oh I know!" he said. "I used lythiam infused foam to cushion the headband, and super absorbent gilla cotton, all coated in a thick layer of molishmial powder, peppermint, and water to give the wearer good vibes." He said this all very fast to a point that Rose couldn't even understand him.

"…Cool. Do you mind if I borrow a few?" she asked suddenly.

"Borrow? Why would you need to borrow them? Are you dressing up for Halloween?"

"No." she said. "I just want to show my cousin, he's the one who inspired me to- er- start making them too."

"Why doesn't he just come up here?"

"He's a Slytherin."

"Oh, well I guess so. Just be careful, and if anyone asks you where you got them, direct them toward me. I may be able to start making a bit of money." He took a bit of parchment and had her right her name, which masks she was going to take, and when they were going to be returned.

He left for the bathroom while Rose and Max dug through the bin.

"What's the likely chance you would have a boy in your dormitory who just happens to make masks?" she asked.

"Obviously pretty likely." Said Max.

"Why didn't you ever mention this option before?"

"I did." Said Max. "I think I recall you responding with, and I quote, ' _Shhhh, Max. I'm trying to remember what types of natural juices are used when feeding a copable water kripe.'_ "

"Sneaking off to Hogsmeade?" asked Calvert.

Max went to open his mouth, then seemed to decide to change whatever he was going to say. "Why do you think that?"

"You know, if you weren't always so busy telling me to shut up all the time, you may know that I'm not as stupid as you think I am." Rose found this kind of amusing considering the word Transfiguration was misspelled at the top of his paper. "You two won't shut up, honestly." He continued. "Always with your plotting. I sit like two spaces from you guys at meal times you know, what you're saying is well heard. Also, you two talk in class and what your saying is well head throughout the almost empty, stone room."

Max and Rose looked at each other knowing that he was probably right.

"And you're not the only students under third who are trying to sneak out."

"Is Micah leaving?" Max asked.

"Probably not." Said Calvert. "He'll likely be taking advantage of the silent castle to knit, or sow, or… sknit."

Rose woke the next morning feeling excited and well rested. She skipped down the stairs with her broomstick and robes for another practice. She was surprised to find someone else walking through the Entrance Hall toward the oak front doors with a broom and with a closer look, she found that it was Al.

"Al?" she said. "Gryffindor booked the pitch for today."

Albus silently handed her a wrinkled letter and she read,

" _Al, I know it's your day off, but Hubert in injured and can't play today. Your flying was incredible and I would really appreciate it if you could stand in. -Rocky."_

"That's odd." She said allowed.

"That he would ask a Slytherin team member rather than another Gryffindor?" Al finished. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I found the note on my table this morning and thought it'd be best just to come down."

"I wonder what happened to Hubert." She thought allowed again. "Maybe he…!" she gasped suddenly making Al jump. "Al, can you do me a huge favor?" Al looked at her suspiciously.

They walked through the light rain toward the pitch to find Rocky striding toward them looking greatly pleased for having just lost his beater.

"Potter! Weasley! Good." He clapped them both on the back and began leading them onward as if they didn't know where they were going.

"So what position am I playing again?" Al asked clapping his hands together.

"Enoc's." Rocky answered.

"Whoa, hold up." Said Al sliding out from Rocky's arm. "Beater is the one position I do _not_ play."

"Don't play? Why?"

"See this?" Al pointed to a ridge on his nose. "That wasn't there until my beaters accident."

"Bludger to the face?" Rocky asked.

"Beater's bat." Al answered.

"His own beater's bat." Rose intervened holding her arms freezing.

"Look, I can play any other position, come on!"

Rocky looked back at the rest of the team shivering in the stands.

"But we don't need any other position covered." Said Rocky irritably.

"Oh! Rocky!" said rose jumping beside him.

"No need to shout Weasley, I'm right here."

"I can play beater, really I can!"

Rocky looked at Al, then at Rose, at his team, then at Rose again, seemingly sizing her up.

"Fine." He grunted. "But we're throwing our whole method out the window."

Rose jumped into the air when he turned away, and tossed Al a sickle. Truth was, he really could play beater, fairly well too, but Rose just _really_ wanted an opportunity to show Rocky what she can do. Though, the bit about the beater's bat accident was true.

Training that day was the best she ever had. Hitting the bludgers was incredibly satisfying, almost like hitting a muggle baseball, which Hugo had made the whole family try. She flew seamlessly and without fault. Not one person was hit that day, which never happened. Rocky hadn't played today, he was in the stands watching them fly intently and scribbling in his notebook.

"Breakfast boys are here!" called Ishmael Steward from the air. He was really like the deputy captain when Rocky wasn't there or wasn't paying attention. Everyone sped to the ground and hurried over as usual, except for Rose who stopped by Rocky first.

"So?" she asked out of breath and extremely sore. She understood why Steward and Hubert always cringed when bringing food to their mouth after practice. "How'd I do?"

"Huh?" said Rocky not paying attention. "Oh, great, yeah you did- great."

Rose was kind of irritated at his complete uninterested in her beater skills and the fact that he didn't even look up. She tried again.

"Do you think I was 'great' enough to even consider switching my position for the next couple of practices? Maybe a game?"

"Why would I do that?" he asked still not paying attention. "you're a fine beater but I chose you for chaser didn't I? And after a while, your first year arms wouldn't be strong enough to take the physical side of beating. Hubert's our beater this year, maybe next year, Weasley."

Rose scowled and began up the stand. Really though, was he not watching. Hubert was a good beater and all, but she didn't miss one, not one! How could you just over look that? She turned around to say something to him, but what she was going to say was lost when she caught sight of a snip of what he was writing.

 _"_ _Sharp left followed by an immediate dive. Full 360 mid dive, hard pull. Slytherin must train under the influence of Poland's team Pilvore with a flash of Turkey's Tachytelic's."_

The rest of the page was obscured by his sleeve.

 _Why would he be- oh Merlin!_ He was trying to riddle out the Slytherin system! That's why he wanted Al! That's why he had a Slytherin player of all people to fill in! he was stealing their work, that Jerk! But it's be best not to jump to conclusion she needed to see the book. Rocky had just stood up and slipped it into his robe pocket and headed toward breakfast with everyone else. Rose reached out and grabbed Al by the hood of his robes as he passed from his conversation with Trout.

"Augh, I swear Rosie, if you don't stop doing that I'll have to-"

"I need you to nick something for me." She interrupted.

Whatever Al was about to say was lost as he paused, probably knowing that Rose strongly disapproved of stealing.

"Nick what?" he asked interested.

"Rocky's notebook, it's in his robe pocket," she was about to explain why she wanted him to take it, but it seemed he didn't care because he walked away and slipped his hand into Rocky's pocket and walked away, right pass Rose who felt a thud in her pocket. It would have been very impressive if she wasn't worried about how well and easily he did it. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed this, but they all seemed too intrigued by Max's story of an old hag who tried to eat him in a dodgy hotel.

"Why did I have to take it?" he asked.

Rose slipped through the gap between the seats and fell quite a way down to land under the bleachers. Luckily she was still small enough to do this, Al fell next to her looking interested. She flipped through the pages of the new looking paperback book and found nothing but strategies and maneuvers but none she recognized and none the Gryffindor team used. But again and again she saw the words _Slytherin system_. The glared and tossed the book to Al.

"Look familiar?" she whispered angrily.

"But… this is our system." He whispered, flipping through the pages. "What is Rocky doing with our system?"

Rose raised her eyebrows at him.

"That's why he wanted me of all people to play?" he let the book fall at his side. "I mean you guys are good enough but, this is piracy. What should we do about it?"

"Well we can't let him keep it can we?" she said. "I'm not letting him run around with your system in his back pocket."

"We could erase it." Whispered Al.

"Do you know how to do that?" she asked.

"No."

"So I'm tied up in this empty room surrounded by vegetables right? And this chick is stirring broth, _while singing_ , like this whole thing wasn't scary enough," Rose listened and realized that Max's story was coming to an end. She had heard it a hundred times before.

By the time she looked back at Al, he was sprinting in the opposite direction and ducked under a blue and bronze tarp that had been hiding them from view. Quickly realizing that the flickering glow in the corner of her eye was Rocky's notebook that Al had lit on fire and had apparently thrown on the seats above which landed on Paxton's robes.

She was startled at how fast he was able to do that and even more so that the team would begin to notice that Rocky was on fire and find her below. She sprinted after Albus and followed him as he took to the sky on his broom, evidently wanting to be as far away as possible.

A commotion below told her that the team had seen what they had done, and she again followed as Al sped toward them looking ' _worried_ ' _._

They landed beside a furious Rocky who was dripping with water and holding his now not so smoldering book. James was pointing his wand at him and the rest of the team was laughing.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"My notebook," grunted Rocky. "caught fire."

"What? Did your wand go off?" Al asked joining her.

"I don't have my wand!" said Rocky. "Someone did this on purpose, to sabotage our training. This book had all out training systems in it."

 _Liar_. She had flipped through the whole thing and not once did it mention their system.

"Pax," said Ishmael. "The only people here are us, unless you're insinuating that one of us did it?"

"I don't know who did it, but when I find them I'll-"

"Class starts in fifteen!" Watson interrupted.

The entire rest of the team stood up and headed toward their brooms, the only way to get to the castle in time.

"So how'd you get untied?" Isaac Fisher asked as their voices trailed away.

"I didn't," said Max. "not by myself anyway. I was in a fit of sneezing from the pepper when all of the sudden the tiny door to my right burst open throwing baskets all across the room. The person who stepped through the door, well, I think it was a person, they immediately began-"

But she had taken to her broom first and flew pass them before she could hear their reactions on what happened next.

After class, the team decided to pay a visit to Hubert in the hospital wing, but found that he wasn't there. They ended up finding him at the lake with a few of his friends.

"Yeah it's weird," he was saying when they asked him what happened. "I twist my ankle the night before coming down the stairs, and Rocky begins throwing a fit about how I can't play in this condition no matter how many times I assured him that I would be fine when I got to the air. But he insisted that I keep ice on it all night or else it'll swell to the size of a pigmy puff. As if he really didn't want me to play."

Al and Rose looked at each other. She considered telling them about Rocky's attempted piracy, but being so early in the season, she didn't think that bringing about trust issues with their own captain would be a very good idea. She knew that the team would be furious with him and that's not what they needed if they wanted to win their next match.


	12. Hogsmeade on Halloween

" **W** e're heading out at two." Said James during breakfast the day of the Hogsmeade visit. "That's two hours after everyone else has left. Meet me in the Library at that time. We're taking a tunnel so you may want to wait until we're in or out of it to change otherwise your clothes'll get all dirty." Rose had told him about the masks which, though offered, he had no interest in wearing.

They were able to talk freely, the excited chatting about the day's events were causing a great amount of noise, perfect for having conversations that you didn't want over heard. Classes went normally, besides every first year's mopey attitudes about being too young to go. Max and Rose were perfectly cheerful secretly knowing that they were going to get to see the magical shops that the others weren't, and were able to quite successfully produce a befuddlement charm quite accidentally, on each other. Max was trying to make it to the teacher's desk to be changed back, but was hitting chairs and desks unconcernedly trying to get there. Rose was sitting on her desk humming then becoming very uncomfortable with all the students staring at her.

Rose was staring out the window in the clock tower watching all the third year and over students leave for Hogsmeade bundled in hats and scarfs, where she was joined by Max. She had become, now, very nervous about their plan. What if they were caught? Was sneaking off to the village bad enough to be expelled? It stung just thinking about it.

"Are you afraid?" she asked Max.

"All the time."

She was surprised by this; no guy she knew would ever admit to being afraid or nervous about anything, especially to admit that they were afraid _all the time._ Now that she thought about it, she had never heard Max lie. Unless you didn't believe his outrageous stories, which she did, he had provided proof that a few of them had happened. But it wasn't normal to tell the truth all the time, for anyone; she lied at least three times a day. Things like, _yes I like your hair, no you don't snore, yes I believe you could become a professional singer_.

"Why don't you ever lie, Max?" she asked casually.

"Why? Do you think I should?" he asked becoming slightly tense.

"No. I've just never heard you do it and didn't know why."

"Well don't complain. We have a couple hours," he said looking down at her watch. "we should do something productive." And he turned away and left.

They ended up spending the next two hours playing wizards chess in the Gryffindor common room. Wizards chess was almost exactly like muggle chess, except the pieces could move on their own and talk to you, also, when overtaken by the other player, the opponent smashes the piece.

"I completely disagree with you." Said Rose. "Checkers requires much more strategy."

"Does not!" Max protested. "In chess you have a plethora of different players who can all do different things. You have to decide which player is sufficient for your needs in overtaking the king, and find a way to safety get them there. In Checkers it's just, click, click, click, you're out."

"Why am I so bad at this!" she exclaimed as Max's knight crushed her queen.

"You're not very good at strategy." he smirked while wiping the broken fragments from the board.

"I, am excellent at strategy." She argued, puffing herself up.

"Yeah? Then why have we spent over an hour and a half of our free time playing wizards chess when we could be doing homework."

"We're taking a break." She shrugged.

"Oh yeah," Max nodded sarcastically. "That sleeping and eating we've been doing lately have really drained us of energy."

"If you care to remember," she argued still more. "I have Quidditch every other morning, and if you'd care to watch, you'd know how hard it is and how much it _does_ drain us of energy. I don't see you jumping up to study either."

"Not counting today's, I only have potions to do and I'm scot-free. If I do recall, you have Astronomy, potions, Transfiguration, and History of Magic that hasn't been touched."

"Well since you're so testy about it, why don't we start studying now?" she suggested.

Max tilted his head to see her watch. "Nah, by the time we get our stations set up, it'll be time to head out."

"You really need to get your own watch."

"Why? I have yours."

"What about when we're not together, you won't have a watch."

Max laughed. "Think of a time other than bed that we're not together."

She thought. "When we go to the bathroom? Oh! And the first hour of Quidditch practice!"

It was true. They were practically inseparable. He was, not counting family relationships, her best friend.

They headed out toward the Library and found Al and Scorpius on the third staircase.

"Oh Rosie! Good!" said Albus seeing them come from behind. "I was wondering, have you figured out a way to make us taller? I wouldn't mind a few extra inches."

"But don't suggest your heels because I'll object." Said Scorpius.

"I don't have heels." She said. "I can't wear them anyway, weak ankles."

"Same." Said Al. "Weak ankles, I have a lovely blue pair but can never wear them." He was joking of course, but she wasn't listening.

"I don't think height it a very big deal."

"What's James wearing, by the way?" asked Max. "I mean we're all wearing the same thing, but we never told him."

"Then this should be interesting." Al smiled.

They caught James actually studying Astronomy in the Library which was a subject that, like Rose, he was lousy at. He quickly shut the book when he saw them and met the four friends outside the Library.

"You ready?" he asked.

"We wouldn't be here if we weren't." said Max.

James went to reach for something in his back pocket, but paused with a look at Scorpius and Max.

"They know what the Marauders map is, James." Said Rose.

He looked disappointedly at her. "Why would you tell them? This is a family artifact."

"Sure," said Scorpius, eyebrows raised. "cause we're gonna run around the school telling everyone that you have a magic map."

"How would you try to hide a thing like that all the way to Hogsmeade, the tunnel its self is long."

"A little loud guys." Said a voice from just inside the Library. Calvert was reading at one of the tables near the doors.

James looked at her annoyed, then pulled from his back pocket, a very old bit of parchment. Max kicked Al, then leant down to unknot his shoelaces that Al had been using his wand to wad while Rose and James had been talking.

" _I solemnly swear I am up to no good."_ James whispered with his wand tip on the front of the paper. Words appeared on the front, slowly as if ink were raising up from the page. The words read, " _Messrs. Moony, Wormtale, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to pre-"_ But James tore it open before she could finish reading, though she already knew what it said. He flipped to where they were and in tiny miniscule writing was the name ' _Elias_ _Calvert',_ a few centimeters away from a cluster of people right outside the Library with the names, ' _James Potter', 'Rose Weasley', 'Scorpius Malfoy', 'Albus Potter', 'Vladimir Everard.'_

James spun around with his wand, hitting Rose in the eye.

"Ow! What's your deal?" she asked angrily.

He looked back at the map, then around again.

"What?"

"Who the heck is Vladimir Everard?" he asked worriedly.

"Augh, calm down." She said pushing his wand away. "It's Max, that's his name."

"Oh yeah," said Max standing back up. "by the way."

Their journey through the castle was surprisingly easy, despite having to run with their arms over their head because Peeves was throwing hard mints and stale taffy at them. "Happy Halloween!" he cackled. They had to jump into a bathroom to avoid Professor Donima who was patrolling the corridors to stop students from doing exactly what they were doing. Turns out, they had jumped into a very occupied boy's bathroom. Maddox had to direct her out because she had her hands over her scared eyes, Al, Scor and James were holding their stomachs laughing.

They all stopped around a statue of the one eyed witch. James looked around before muttering, " _dissendium."_ A loud scraping told them that the stone hump of the witch was moving. After thirty seconds of terrible nails on a chalkboard where they turned around constantly checking whether or not a teacher was going to investigate the noise, it finally opened wide enough for a small person to enter. The light from outside in no way illuminated the dark whole within. James smiled at them before disappearing into the hump, followed by Al, Max, Scor then finally Rose scooted her legs into the dark tunnel and found herself falling down what seemed like a slide to land on something squishy.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, who was that?"

"Scorpius." He grunted.

The tunnel opening had shut on its own and Rose was now grouping around the dark to make out her surroundings. She felt a few bodies, damp, earthy surfaces around her and a shoe.

"Did someone lose a shoe?"

"That's mine!"

"I can't see anything."

"That's cause we're in a tunnel dumb skull."

"James, is there a lamp?"

"You know, if I was in a dark tunnel, I sure wish I would be with a bunch of wizards with wands."

"Oh, right."

" _Lumos._ " Was muttered by a few voices and three wand tips illuminated the dirt ground around them.

"Ow!" said Scorpius again rubbing his head. "Don't stand up."

"I've been standing up this whole time." Said Al as they continued walking.

"Yeah well that's cause you're short." Said James who was leading their single file line.

"You know; mom reckons I'll be taller than you in future."

"Does not!"

"Does too! And dad agrees."

"They just told you that to make you feel like you surpass me in some way."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Scorpius and Rose looked at each other and rolled their eyes, Rose being all to use to this behavior from them.

They had walked for what seemed like a half hour when Scorpius called for a break.

"Hold on, I just need to," he crouched down and stretched his neck. "I think I have a crook." Max and James did the same.

"James, are we almost there?" she asked miserably.

She hadn't realized how far they would have to walk to get there. Or how uncomfortable it would be. As they continued, she felt her legs getting more and more tired and she kept falling behind. Max who was in the back had to keep pushing her onward, she didn't try to keep up much now, Max was practically sliding her through the muddy ground and the trip became so much easier, well, for her.

About another half hour into their trip, the ground began to rise making the journey harder but which meant that they were almost there. Or so she thought. Ten minutes had pass and she was hoping that the others were starting to wonder if they had taken the right tunnel as well. Were they perhaps heading to Hogsmeade station? She was about to ask James whether or not they were almost there yet and hoping for a better answer than, "I don't know, now stop asking won't you?"

But at that moment, she tripped over something and fell on to Scorpius again. She realized before she could apologize that she wasn't the only one. Everyone seemed to have fallen over James.

"Found the steps." He grunted trying to stand up.

"Fell over the steps more like." Said Scorpius who was holding his elbow. "I hit my elbow."

"Yeah," huffed Al. "on my face, you shouldn't be complaining."

They were now all crawling up the earthy stairs, no longer worried about how messy their knees were getting. After a very long while they finally came to a panel in the ceiling.

"Shut your wands off guys." James whispered.

The bright glow from the wands went out with " _Nox."_ And they were plunged into darkness again only to be ripped by the dull orange light coming from the panel that James was now climbing through. They climbed out single filed. and found themselves in what looked like a cellar. Wooden crates and boxes cluttered the dusty floor and a wonderful smell wafted down from a wooden staircase where many loud voices and the chime of a bell. She knew herself to be in the cellar of Honeydukes sweet shop.

"Come on, quickly!" whispered Al gesturing to the bag that Rose had over her shoulder. She pulled from it, the four masks for them to wear and tossed one to each.

"Oh," she stopped. "yours cracked Al. _Reparo._ " She tapped it with her wand and it immediately repaired itself and she tossed it to him.

They all removed their robes, ties and vests and tossed it in Rose's bag to be tossed back into the tunnel under the floor tile that they had crawled through.

"Where's James?" asked Al who was adjusting his mask.

They looked around for a moment, James walked out from behind a wooden crate quite composedly dressed in a turn of the century muggle outfit complete with a top hat, cane, and mustache.

There was a short pause which was torn by Max's howl of laughter soon joined by the others who all fell over laughing.

"Laugh all you want," Said James. "but if we're completing on costume, I win."

"Where did you get that?" Rose laughed.

"A muggle pamphlet. I had it sent home and mom and dad sent it to me."

"But wouldn't they know that you were sneaking off to Hogsmeade if they knew you were coming in costume?" asked Al.

"I told them that a few students were going to the feast in costume."

"What did they say?"

"Not much." Replied James. "They just asked for a picture."

"Is it real?" Scor asked.

"What the mustache? Yeah, a hair growing charm."

Rose knew that this Halloween, the Halloween that James dressed as a muggle, would be her favorite ever. Though she couldn't understand why James would have gone through all this just fore twelve eclairs.

"Shall we?" Max asked composing himself.

They all pointed their wands at each other and with a puff of yellow smoke, their hair changed colors. Scor's was now red, Al's blonde, Rose's blonde, and Max chose to go with light brown. Rose thought that it was odd for him to even come dressed as they are, in a mask. He could change his appearance whenever he wanted. She supposed that he just wanted to feel included.

"So remember," he said. "Rose, you're Aubrey, Al, you're Hans, Scor, you're Sam, and I'll be Darren."

"But that is one of your names." Said Rose.

"But nobody uses it, I'm either Vlad, or Max to everyone."

James had climbed the stairs and was peering through the cracked door. "So we have four people behind the counter, and an old guy talking to a kid dressed as a pirate. So on my count, we're gonna, one at a time-" but he was cut off when Max peered through the crack and walked pass him. "What are you doing? Get back here, you idiot!"

Easy as anything, he walked from the door behind the counter and into the main shop. He turned around and held his arms out. Rose couldn't see his face, but she could imagine that it was a face of smugness.

"Idiot indeed." Smiled Rose also pushing pass James. The people behind the counter paid them no attention at all. The terrific crowd gathering around the registers were absorbing most of their attention. James slumped out as well, evidentially disappointed that he didn't get to play captain.

"Nobody cares." Said Max as James walked closer. "That's something you have to learn early in life."

Rose knew that James didn't like hearing life lessons from a first year. She could see very little of the store through the crowd, most in costume, but from what she could see, the sweets lined the walls and bright colorful décor and wrappers cluttered the store.

"Where's Al?" asked Scor looking around.

They pushed through to find him standing in front of a shelve of special effects sweets. Everything you could imagine was over here. Chocolate frogs that actually jump, blowing gum that doesn't pop, peppermint imps to make you breathe fire. The kids eating the candy by this area were making loud animal noises, blowing bubbles, breathing smoke. One Hufflepuff boy blew a smoke ring while a Ravenclaw tried to blow fire through it.

"No fire breathing in the store." Wheezed an old man in an apron shooing them out.

Scor pushed over to another shelve, this one, laden with chocolates, toffees, nougat, caramel, truffles and other heavy sweets. They wanted to buy it all, but with one look at the crowd, decided to come back later. Instead they made their way, with difficulty, outside the store. Many people in black cloaks were bustling around, and many more were wearing costume. She was surprised considering you only get a dozen eclairs.

The cobbled stone street was decorated with fall leaves and store fronts had spider webs and other Halloween décor. Music was coming from most shops and the weather was very cold. Rose felt a sudden jolt of Halloween sprit watching a skeleton dance down the street and gripped Scorpius' and Max's arms tightly in excitement, but mostly to bring a bit of body heat closer.

James scooted close between them with his head down. "They're all staring." He whispered from the corner of his mouth.

"That's because you came dressed like a bloody muggle." Max smiled.

"We're here and we know how to get back," said Al. "you don't have to _babysit_ us anymore."

"We're heading in the same direction." He replied. "I might as well stick around a little longer."

They checked out the owlery where hundreds of owls of every breed were on perches all the way to the ceiling. Rose cooed over a tiny one that could fit in the palm of her hand.

"I thought you didn't like owls." Said Max.

"I don't like Mary's owl, but this one is sweet."

They visited Zonko's joke shop which looked like nothing compared to the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes but they still bought a variety of items which included aerosol ice, ("Spray in your friend's shoes for a laugh!") self-misspelling ink, ("For people you don't like.") and self-screaming quill, ("Set timer and wait.")

"I'm gonna leave this on the Slytherin card table set to the next potions lesson, Poppy, she'll take it." Said Scorpius.

Rose then drug the boys into Madam Puddifoots tea shop to buy a few candy apples. The store was very sweet, very dainty, and very pink. She was perfectly cheery eating her apple, but the boys came out rather stiff.

"I feel," James mumbled. "Less, like a man, now."

"I can't eat this."

"Don't be ridiculous Al-er- Hans, just because we got it in Madam Puddifoots doesn't mean it doesn't taste good."

"No, I mean I actually can't eat this, my mask." He was the only person wearing a full face one.

They headed to the Three Broomsticks pub to get whatever that incredible cinnamon smell was and chose seats near the back, at a table mostly concealed by a giant spider, to give Al a bit of privacy to eat his apple. The pub was very crowded, smoky, and noisy, but it was warm and that's all that mattered. Max went ahead and ordered and surprisingly fast considering the crowd, a young lady with big hair and dark lipstick brought them four hot butterbeers, one iced, five cinnamon pastry tarts, two pumpkin ball clusters and a bowl of peanuts.

The nice thing about being incognito, was that for one thing, they weren't disturbed because no one knew them, and two, they could listen to other people's conversations without being bothered. Victoire and Dominique sat at the booth in front of them and they were able to listen to Dominique talk about qualities she looks for in a future date and Victoire talk about qualities Teddy has as a future mate. James was appalled by some of them. ("He doesn't use the word lovely.") ("Girls _like_ that?") and ("He never tells me I look ravishing in the morning.") were the types of things he was mouthing throughout the conversation.

"Excuse me?" came a voice beside them as they were finishing their pastry tarts, they looked up to see a Hufflepuff fourth year. He was a particularly attractive one too, with blonde wavy hair and blue eyes, he had a strong chin and a kind smile. They had thought that they'd be undisturbed, but they hadn't counted on the manners of a Hufflepuff. "I don't mean to disturb you, but, I don't believe we've met. Oh, you _are_ Hogwarts students aren't you?"

Max nodded because the question was directed toward him. It would have been so much easier to have just said no and not risk the chance of being caught. Why didn't Max ever lie?

"Oh, good." Said the boy sliding himself into the booth. "I'm Illya Vizzini."

Rose recognized him now as the beater from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. He reached out and shook Max's hand first. "Darren." Max mumbled in a comically deep voice. "Sam." "Hans." "Aubrey." He had surprisingly soft hands considering he was a beater. "Er-" James hadn't chosen a fake name and was thinking quickly, "Steve." was what he decided to go with.

"Do you mind taking your masks off?" he asked.

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed too harshly. "We're avoiding a few people." She tried softer.

"I don't happen to be one of those do I?" he asked.

"No."

"Well good. So, what house are you guys in?"

"Ravenclaw." She decided to say owing to the fact that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs are not on as good of terms with each other as Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. She didn't realize until after she answered that she should have said Slytherin, they're even worse with each other.

"My sister is in Ravenclaw you may know her, her names Lola."

"Uh, we've probably seen her but I don't know who you're talking about." She said, wondering why she was the only one talking. "A group of wall flowers we are, we're normally in the corner studying or doing- Astronomy." Knowing that Astronomy was Ravelnclaw's best subject.

"I don't really get Astronomy." He shrugged, helping himself to their peanuts. "I have no idea how the planets movements affect us at all here."

Max opened his mouth, no doubt to answer, but Rose interrupted him not noticing.

"I know!" she said excitedly, finally finding someone other than James who didn't understand it. "Keep me in the Milky way galaxy, anything else," she swiped her hand over her head to indicate the information going over her head.

"I thought you said you guys did Astronomy in your common room." he said confused.

"I said we did it, I never said we were all good at it."

He smiled, "Honest, I like that. But really, have you ever been able to see anything up there?"

In no time at all it seemed, they were discussing childhood pets, favorite classes, philosophy of life, likes, dislikes, she was telling him her catastrophe when using the telephone for the first time and he tried to explain to her how to use a muggle television, he was muggle born himself. She really liked talking to him and enjoyed listening to his accent which she pined as Russian. He had a very blarney way of speaking and making whatever he was saying, even if it was about dust, sound interesting.

"Yes, checkers is more complicated than chess." He agreed with her as the sky outside the window became streaked with red. "Chess has so many different pieces that getting where you need to go is easy. In checkers, your pieces can only do one thing and have to jump over its opponents rather then on them, making it much more difficult."

"That's what I was trying to tell him!" she said. "But Max here… where'd they go?"

She hadn't paid any attention to anything else since Illya had gotten there and was startled to find that her friends weren't sitting by her.

"I think they got bored." He shrugged, smiling.

"But I- I didn't see them leave."

He laughed at this. "They got up like two hours ago. They said that they were going to Honeydukes. Hans had to climb _over_ you."

"Really? I didn't notice."

"You know, when I first sat down, I could have sworn that you had blonde hair, but now it looks more strawberry." He said tilting his head.

Rose inhaled sharply and grabbed a fork to use the reflection from the handle to see the color which was now a strawberry blonde. The hex only lasted a few hours and was now wearing off.

She insisted they leave now, and assured him that the change of color was only due to the lighting, and was surprised to find that only two other students were still in the village when they walked out into the chilly Halloween air. Illya was nice enough to wake a Slytherin sixth year who had fallen asleep on a bench with a hat over his face.

He and Rose together walked quite a long way toward the castle and into the oak front doors. Rose pulled off his Hufflepuff robe and started toward the marble staircase.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "The feast is about to start. Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah," she hurried, slowly working her way backward up the stairs. "I just don't feel well."

"Would you like me to take you to Madam Pomfrey?"

"No, I have some medicine in my dormitory."

"Would you like me to wait for you?"

"No!" she said too quickly. "Really, I'll be fine. You head on to the feast and I'll get my pills."

She ran up the stairs toward the _'Ravenclaw'_ common room, but split for Gryffindor as soon as she was out of sight. She stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady and gasped, " _Pumpkin pasties."_

"Before I open," Said the fat lady. "may I suggest removing your mask, only it's a little obvious where you've just been."

"Oh! Thank you!" then Rose looked confusedly at her.

"I never tell the secrets of my students, I don't encourage this behavior, but if it is already committed, there's no reason in selling you out unless asked specifically by the headmaster." She swung open and Rose crawled through the hole exhausted.

The common room was half full of students killing time until the feast. Max was on the sofa reading and looked half over his book when she walked in.

"Your clothes are on the chair." He said pointing without looking back up.

She took them without a word and hurried upstairs to change. Her dormitory was empty for once and she stopped to think. If she changed, she would sit with Max, and maybe Al and Scor depending on whether they sit with the other Slytherins or not. But if she wore the mask, she would be able to sit with Illya which she really wanted to do. He was a fantastic conversationalist. But then again, she thought, if she did wear the mask, he may try to introduce her to his sister who would know she wasn't a Ravenclaw, not to mention Micah would recognize his mask. She was being ridiculous; she could possibly sit by him. She continued into her uniform again and hurried back toward the portrait whole, stopping to wait for Max.

"Come on." She said.

"For what?" Max asked looking at his bare wrist as if there were a watch there.

"The feast!"

"It's not for another half hour." He said looking back at his book.

"But Illya said it was starting soon."

"Probably another reason to talk to you more." He smirked over _Help, I'm a Pincushion! An autobiography by Miranda Pearl._

"What are you on about?" she asked suspiciously, nearing toward him.

"What am I on about?" he laughed, finally putting the book down. "He fancies you obviously!"

Rose went slightly red. "He doesn't." she muttered.

"You guys were together for five freaking hours just _talking._ No guy in a magical village would spend five hours talking to someone, especially when he has a group of friends waiting for him at the other table, which he did. And you know what? I think you like him too." She didn't respond. Max looked up again and stopped smiling. "You do?" he asked quietly. "Oh Rose," he said looking at her wearily. "I'm sorry, but he's fourth year, your first. It won't work unless you're much older where at that time, you'd probably be over him."

She didn't like Illya, of course not! That would be absurd! What Max was saying was obviously true, this thought had crossed her mind when Illya was popping popcorn kernels with his wand. But hearing it come from someone else's mouth hurt a little and she didn't know why. She was going to protest against it, but found herself still looking at him.

For a long moment no words were exchanged and it soon became very awkward. He simply kept looking at her like she was a wounded puppy.

She cleared her throat. "How 'bout a game of wizard's chess?" she suggested suddenly and completely unrelated. "God knows I need the practice."

Fifteen minutes into their completely silent game however, Rose slapped a hand to the table and snapped, "I don't like him okay? So stop looking at me like a I'm a sick child. I know you let me get your queen."

"I wasn't looking at you like a sick child!" he exclaimed.

"Yes you were! And you did let me get your queen didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, so what? I wasn't thinking about you and, what's his name?"

"Illya."

"Illya!"

"Don't lie!" a few heads were turning in their direction.

"If you must know, I was thinking about what it would look like if you sprayed aerosol ice into your own hair. Then I started thinking about if you sprayed it into your mouth, whether you could still open and close it. And I can't lie, Rosie, you know that!"

There was a pause. "You said can't that time." She said quietly.

Max stared for a moment. "Bishop to E-6, checkmate." And he got up from the table.

"Max, wait!" she called running after him.

"We should head down now if we want seats by people we like." He was saying, not giving her the slightest attention.

"You said can't! like you're physically unable to! Max, why _can't_ you?"

"Drop it." He warned.

"Max, tell me!" she said grabbing a handful of his robes.

"I said drop it!" he shouted, his eyes becoming red. He pulled his robes from her grip and jumped through the entrance hole.

She thought for a moment, then jumped through after him. She wasn't done, she had questions that she wanted answered and she couldn't understand why Max wouldn't answer them. Did he think she was going to judge him? Did he think she couldn't be trusted? She felt slightly betrayed, she trusted him. Rose opened her mouth to speak but glanced at his eyes first, which was good because the color told her that she should heed his warning and drop it, for now.

Students were flowing into the great hall and when it came their turn to enter, the tension that had followed them from the common room was suddenly broken by the sight before them. A gust of warm air and delicious smells hit them as soon as they stepped in. The enchanted ceiling was dark with grey clouds and thunder claps. Live bats flew and squeaked below it along with many pumpkins, small and large carved ones floating throughout the candles. Suits of armor without helmets were lined up around the hall and skeletons were walking about scaring people. Ghosts were gliding in and out of the floors and walls giving the room a cool effect. The house banners were hanging above each house table as usual, except the banners look old and worn, shabby and torn.

Rose and Max sat in awe looking around them. A few of the students were still dressed in the costumes that they wore to Hogsmeade.

"Great isn't it?" said Fred beaming. "I heard Professor Kemp is having a group of headless horsemen do a routine for us."

"Really?" said Rose. "I-ewe!" Something freezing cold and uncomfortable swept through her. Max laughed, it was a ghost. It felt like walking through a spider wed and into ice water.

The ghost was the Gryffindor ghost with a ruff around his neck that she had seen at the annual start of term feast but had never spoken to.

"It's Nearly Headless Nick!" said Max.

The ghost turned toward him mournfully and sighed. "Do you even know my name?"

"Sure! You're _Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington!"_

 _Sir Nicholas looked surprised but pleased by this._

 _"_ _Well you're the first, first year that has known that on their own. Most people seem amused by my condition, enough to make a crude nickname for me."_

 _"_ _You're mentioned in Hogwarts a History." Said Max._

 _"_ _Really?"_

 _"_ _You've never read it?"_

 _"_ _I must admit, I haven't."_

 _"_ _But you've been around here since you died. What do you do with your life-well- death?"_

 _"_ _I gossip." Sir Nicholas replied, then glided eerily away._

 _"_ _He almost got his head almost cut off you know?" Max said excitedly. "45 times he was hit in the neck with a blunt axe! His head is now only held on by a thin layer of skin. Really gross."_

 _Rose knew this of course but often felt bad for interrupting him._

 _"_ _I'm so bloody hungry!" Roxanne complained a few seats away. James handed her a napkin which she pretended to eat._

 _"_ _I wonder what's taking dinner so long." Said Max tilting his head again to read the time on her watch which showed that three minutes had pass where dinner should have started. "Maybe we could pop by the kitchens, see what the holdup is." he whispered, grinning._

 _"_ _Just because we know how to enter doesn't mean we should do it all the time." She warned. "I'm not saying we can't go in there anymore; I still want to see Yoman," she hurried seeing his raised eyebrows. "but just cause we haven't gotten into trouble yet, doesn't mean we won't any time soon. Our conniving ideas of fun will get us into trouble, I'm telling you."_

 _"_ _Conniving?" Max laughed. "Come on, you're making us to sound like we're criminals."_

 _"_ _Max, we broke into Professor Hagrid's house, we snuck into the gardens and ate the food, we were on the grounds after hours, we attempted to enter a secret passage, we lit Rocky's notebook on fire-"_

 _"_ _That was you?"_

 _"_ _-we brewed an unpermitted potion, we snuck into an out of order girl's bathroom, you used an illegal curse, we sneak out every night for Astronomy, and we used fake I. D's to get into Hogsmeade. We're not criminals but we haven't quite been saints have we?"_

 _"_ _First of all, I never broke in to a Professor's house, that was you three before you met me," Max started._

 _"_ _For Merlin's sake guys!" Calvert interrupted in exasperation. "Talk a little louder, won't you? I don't think the headmaster has heard you properly." The puking boy, Dallas Hoban was watching them too._

 _"_ _and second," Max leaned in, in a whisper. "That curse isn't illegal until it is filed as such and since the Ministry of Magic is completely unaware of its existence, I can't get in trouble."_

 _"_ _Not revealing a working curse to the Ministry of Magic in itself is more illegal then that curse probably is." Rose argued._

 _"_ _Are you going to report me?" Max asked, grinning._

 _"_ _Oh- of course not- but honestly, ahh!"_

 _Something from directly above her fell and she covered her head and let out a small scream. But it didn't hit her, she hadn't noticed when arguing with Max, but the suits of armor had come off the wall and had positioned themselves all around the hall in random order. The pumpkin that had just fallen from the ceiling didn't hit her, but landed on a suit of armor directly behind her, on top of the things neck. She turned to see pumpkins from all over the room falling on top of the armor creating many headless horsemen._

 _The hall was watching them interestedly when all of the sudden around fifty black horses with red eyes came bursting from the wall behind the Slytherin table, neighing and throwing their massive heads back. A few of the Slytherins screamed, Poppy Parkinson's elbow slipped off the table and the hit her head. Rose laughed when seeing Scorpius fall of his bench and under the table, Al was trying to help him up threw hysterics. The horses met their riders who mounted, and they rode through the crowd at random for a moment but soon became a well-organized number where the horsemen stood up on their steeds and preformed a number of tricks for their audience. Until they all stopped before the teachers table; the students watched eagerly. There was a pause where you could hear a couple people cough. Then an echoing noise protruded from the armors breastplates. The pumpkins on their head wiggled a little and the mouth that was carved into is began to sing. Skeletons were raddling over and began using their bones as musical instrument. In no time, the daring riding became a concert. Before anyone would remark or even laugh at the sudden change of pace, a magnificent feast appeared before them._

 _Everyone dug in, the momentary silence as if it had never happened. Rose was distracted however, by the perfect vantage point she had of Illya at the Hufflepuff table surrounded by people who were talking animatedly to him, but she noticed that he kept looking over at the Ravenclaw table and didn't seem to be listening._

 _"_ _Rose," Max whispered, looked over to where she was staring. "Don't. Don't let him ruin your night."_

 _"_ _But I'm ruining his."_

 _She watched as he stood up and walked over to the Ravenclaw table to speak to a girl who looked very similar to him. Rose assumed that this was Lola._

 _"_ _Green bean casserole?" Max held a dish up to her as she blinked in surprise. "You know, I'm not usually a fan of green beans, but I do like this casserole, I think the fried onions really help bring out the flavor." He said this quickly while spooning some onto her plate._

 _She looked up to find that Max was now sitting in the middle of her vantage point. Did he do that on purpose?_

 _"_ _Are you trying to take my mind off Illya?" she asked._

 _"_ _Uh-huh." He replied smiling._

 _She was about to assure him that she wasn't going to let Illya ruin her night, but she was interrupted by Al and Scorpius hurrying over to sit by them. They quickly explained that Al had sprayed aerosol ice onto Poppy's ham and she had broken her tooth on it._

 _"_ _No I didn't mean to brake her tooth, I'm not evil!" Al exclaimed. "It wasn't supposed to freeze solid! Just the outside layer right?"_

 _"_ _Of course it freezes solid." Said Rose. "Didn't you read the fine print?"_

 _"_ _Of course not!" said Al looking surprised. "As if I don't have better things to do with my time."_

 _"_ _Does she know it was you?" Max asked._

 _"_ _No, but she'll probably work it out. She did sock me in the eye the other day. She probably thinks this is my revenge." Said Al._

 _"_ _She what!" Rose exclaimed, furious._

 _"_ _I wasn't that bad, I corrected her on her potions assignment and she got all angry and hit me. We hopped by the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey cleaned it right up."_

 _"_ _Why didn't you tell me!" Rose shouted. "I would've-!"_

 _"_ _That's why I didn't tell you." Al interrupted. "Because you would've."_

 _They looked behind at Parkinson to see Relctory the large Slytherin boy from flying lessons whisper something to Poppy who was holding her mouth. Relctory pointed in their direction and Al and Scorpius turned back around slowly._

 _"_ _Now she knows." Said Scor._

 _"_ _It was Scor's idea," Said Al. "but I was closest."_

 _Besides that, the evening was rather pleasant. Rose had forgotten about Illya Vizzini. Every time she would think about him, Max somehow would know and always had a way of taking her mind off of it. The music was pleasant and the food was great. The excited chatter became buzzing in her ears and Max was entertaining a group of people who had gathered, including Professor Dalbert, with the story of how he was in a muggle raft when it bucked over rapids. Rose had her head on her arms and was listening with her eyes shut._

 _Something prodded her in the arm not a minute later._

 _"_ _Careful, Al." she heard Scor whisper. "She doesn't look happy."_

 _"_ _No, she's just a naturally angry looking sleeper."_

 _She lifted her head off the table and blinked a blur from her eyes to find her three friends sitting on the Gryffindor table in front of her and all the rest of the hall empty._

 _"_ _What? Where is everyone?" she asked, confused._

 _"_ _They're gone." Max laughed. "You fell asleep."_

 _"_ _No I didn't." she argued. "I wasn't laying on the table for more than a minute." But now that she sat up straight, she felt her back sore and her limbs stiff._

 _"_ _So everyone just apparated to bed, did they?" asked Scor sarcastically._

 _"_ _You can't apparate or disapperate from Hogwarts." Max rolled his eyes. "So you don't think you were asleep for more than a minute?"_

 _"_ _No!" Rose protested._

 _"_ _Then how did my story end?" he asked, smiling._

 _"_ _You, well you were thrown from the raft then you-er- swam to safety?"_

 _"_ _Nope. I was wedged under a rock and had to dislodge my joint to get my ankle out."_

 _"_ _You what?" Rose exclaimed. "That's painful! How old were you?"_

 _"_ _Well I choose pain over death by drowning, and I was six."_

 _"_ _Then, why didn't you guys wake me before now?"_

 _"_ _You looked, er-" Scorpius tried, "tired."_

 _"_ _Don't lie." Al rolled his eyes. "They were scared you would curse them. You look angry when you sleep, you get it from your dad I think."_

 _Max and Rose climbed into the portrait hole a little while later to find crowds of Gryffindor students who were playing games of exploding snap and a few muggle born students were introducing the game charades. Max was great at guessing but was terrible at the acting. He was trying to play a Wizengmant member, but somehow everyone kept guessing yoga instructor. Fred and Roxanne were on one of the tables advertising the newest Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes merchandise. They had volunteers step up to demonstrate a few and everyone got a good laugh as the volunteers did crazy things like river dance, reciting the last thing they heard a girl who was 5'5 say, impersonating voices, and turning one's saliva into butterbeer._

 _"_ _And it doesn't just have to be butterbeer!" Fred was saying. "The saliva will turn into whatever the candy you take shows! Such as water, pumpkin juice, orange, apple, grape juice! Oh! And Fire Whisky!" he smirked._

 _"_ _For of age or older." Corrected Roxy with a sideways look at her brother._

 _"_ _Er- right." He said dropping the small round candy back into the bag, but not before winking at Cian, Ortho, and Fritz._

 _After a sparkler show in the common room, everyone went to bed sleepy and chattering. Rose insisted that she and Max get caught up on homework. Which he reluctantly agreed on. But by the time they had gotten their books and paper out, neither of them felt up to it._

 _"_ _Did you ever go back to Honeydukes?" she asked. "That's where Illya said you guys were going."_

"Oh yeah!" Max smiled. "I picked a few things up for you, I figured you wouldn't have time to go back. Here."

He rushed up the stairs and returned with a Honeydukes gift box. He handed it to her and they spent the next few minutes opening and eating the candies.

"You can pay me back later," said Max. "I'm not made of money. Oh!" he said grabbing her wrist. "Al and Scor will be on the roof already."

"Astronomy? Tonight?" she asked in disbelief. "Come on, it's Halloween."

"We're not doing Astronomy." he smiled with a wink. "You're gonna wanna grab a jacket, and your snacks."

Turns out, the boys had bought some fireworks at Zonko's Wizard Joke shop and were setting them off on the roof.

"Wouldn't the others in the castle hear it?" Rose asked apprehensively.

"Silent Fireworks!" Scorpius exclaimed excitedly, shoving the now empty box label under her nose.

"But, what about the light, people will see the flashes."

"We've mapped it all out." Said Al who Rose noticed was bending over the Marauders map that she assumed he had taken from James after their trip.

"The teachers sleep in these rooms, except for the heads of house who sleep near their common rooms. Professor Kemps office is facing the forest as is the Ravenclaw tower. Gryffindor can see the lake and those mountains over there. Hufflepuff and Slytherin are under the first landing so they can see very little. So if we shoot them off right there," he pointed at a tiny sliver of sky. "no one will see." She shook her head and smiled.

After a very memorable incident where Al accidentally lit Scorpius on fire, they sat down to watch their handy work. And they stayed bundled in blankets eating food and candy, watching the fireworks silently go off well into the morning. The fireworks lasted a good fifteen minutes each and the boys had gone a little over board. Rose was having trouble keeping her eyes open while the only noise was Max's usual humming which he did pretty much all the time.


	13. Salazar's

**R** ose woke freezing cold and grouped around for her blanket without opening her tired eyes. She grabbed a piece of fabric and attempted to curl up in it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Augh, stop that." Al's voice mumbled next to her.

 _Al_? She sat up quickly looking around. _Why was Al in her room?_ _Why wasn't she in her room_? She blinked the sun from her eyes and found herself curled up with Al, Max and Scor all in one kind of pile and in front of her was a large stretch of sky, the lake, forest, mountains and Quidditch pitch off in the distance. They had fallen asleep on the roof? Why had they fallen asleep on the roof? Not only that, but a thin layer of snow coated them and was still falling. She scrambled quickly out of the pile shivering and looked over the edge where she could see straight down the mountain that the castle was perched atop of. She tried to call to the boys to wake them up but her voice was horse and she was having trouble breathing. She began in a fit of sneezing that successfully stirred the boys to wake up. All three of them looked stunned as they all peered around where they were. They looked over at Rose who noticed that they all had tomato red noses, puffy eyes and open mouths.

"Wh-" muttered Scorpius. "How did we? Oh Merlin." He curled up in the blanket they had been sharing the night before. He sounded nasally and very sick.

"Where's my watch?" she asked in the same nasally voice as Scorpius.

"Who cares about the watch?" said Al standing up. "It's snowing!"

"I need my watch to see what time it is!" Rose snapped. "We have classes today, remember?"

"Found it." Said Max holding it up without looking. He was balled up in his robe but didn't seem to sound sick.

Rose squealed when reading the time and Scor covered her mouth.

"Shhh!" he hushed. "Do you know how much trouble we'd be in if they found us up here?"

"Who cares!" she squeaked, pushing his hand away. "We've missed Charms and the first fifteen minutes of Herbology!"

"Transfiguration!" Scor exclaimed gripping his hair.

"What?" Max hollered. "None of us ever sleep that late!"

"We never stay up so late either, come on!" she grabbed ahold of her broom and jumped off the roof followed by Al, then Scor, and Max who had borrowed a school broom.

It didn't take two minutes to get to the green houses and burst into greenhouse one to find it empty.

"Really!" huffed Max as they ran to the other greenhouses. "The one day we're late, they decide to do something interesting!"

"Max?" Rose breathed through her mouth. "Why aren't you sick?"

"What do you mean?"

"What? Am I speaking in riddle? Why aren't you sick?"

"I don't get sick very often." He replied hurriedly.

"But we fell asleep on the roof and it began to snow… That's a valid reason for at least a sniffle." She argued.

"Really?" said Max in sarcasm. "Thank you for explaining what just happened."

She huffed irritably. She hated when he became sarcastic.

They found their class in greenhouse two and walked in quickly taking any open spots in the crowd.

"You're late." Said Professor Neville not looking up. "I do think- what in the world happened to you three!" he exclaimed now seeing them.

"It's a-" Al gasped. "we'll tell you later."

Neville was forced to move Rose, Al, and Scor to a smaller table in the corner of the room to collect Hipple Trap sab in fear of their sneezing and coughing getting the other students sick. Max, who didn't show any sign of sickness, or even a runny nose, was able to work with his plant normal as anything. Professor Neville later had to have them clean tools instead because their sneezing and coughing was getting the Hipple Trap sick.

"One more vile guys, you're doing great!" said Neville walking over to the three in the corner. "Come with me." He mumbled to them, "Meet me outside. May I borrow this?" he asked kindly to a tree who was wrapped tightly in a blanket. "I'll give it right back." He pulled the quilt off the plant, it shivered, and he carried it outside with Rose, Al, Scor, and Max who slipped away from the table.

"What the heck have you gotten yourselves into?" he asked wrapping them tightly in the quilt, then standing back with his arms crossed.

"You know when you look at us like that, we don't really want to tell you the truth." Said Al.

Neville sighed. "You know I'm not gonna give you detention unless what you did was really bad."

Al bit his lip.

"That bad?" said Neville.

Al breathed heavily and told him almost exactly what happened. That the fireworks that _Fred had bought them,_ had been lit, and they had been on the roof and had fallen asleep when it snowed.

Neville rubbed his eyebrows tiredly. "Well I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Max and Rose probably won't get detention if you two go to Professor Flitwick's office and apologize earnestly and offer to take make up work. The bad news," he looked at Scor and Al. "is that Professor Donima won't be so lenient. She'll question you and don't you dare tell her the truth because what you guys did would be strike one for expulsion. She won't take sleeping in for an answer. Sorry guys, there's not much I can do for you here."

"Professor?" said a Slytherin girl poking her head though the door. "Jasper had got his hand stuck in the plants mouth, it's eating his arm I think."

"Thank you, I'll be right in." he said, then turned back toward them. "Be more cautious okay? You're gonna get caught one day, and it won't be by myself or Dalbert. I think- oh! You're bleeding Mr. Malfoy!"

"What?"

"Yeah like, right there, on your nose."

"Ugh," groaned Scorpius pinching his bloody nose. "It's normal." He said. "It happens when there are dramatic weather changes. Going from the roof, to the warm greenhouse, to back here again."

"Here." Said Neville giving him a handkerchief from his back pocket. "It has dirt on it but, just go to Madam Pomfrey, have her fix you guys up. Er, Max you go too, just in case. And Mr. Malfoy? Don't be looking up, we don't want the blood rushing back into your nasal passages."

They did just as he had instructed, after flying up to the castle, they headed to the Matron who did fix them right up with a disgusting brown liquid that tasted of prunes. Max was acting very skittish when entering the hospital wing. The Matron spent more time with Max than with the others though he wasn't even sick.

"And he was with you three when you became sick?" she asked.

The three of them nodded. "Well then I don't understand it." She said backing up. "Even one with an extraordinary immune system wouldn't have been able to hold off a virus like this, but this boy is completely healthy, not even a sniffle. Do you mind if I take a bit of blood young man?" she asked looking him up and down, in his ears eyes, and mouth.

"Er, I'd really rather you not…" he said.

"But dear, it won't hurt at all and I have never seen a student as healthy as you are, I mean honestly, not even a sniffle, it is cold season."

Max looked very uncomfortable and seemed to be trying to find an excuse not to.

"Come on, Max," said Al. "What? Are you afraid of needles?"

"Yes." He replied quite gruffly.

"Max…" said Rose with her eyebrows raised.

Maddox rolled his eyes and held out his arm as if this was a terrible idea.

"That's it." Cooed Madam Pomfrey. "You have nothing to fear."

She pulled a rather long needle from a drawer and took some blood, simple as anything. Then she left him with a green band aid to cover the itty-bitty little pinprick she had left.

"What's your deal?" Scor asked as they were leaving. "Why are you so scared of healers?"

"I've had bad experiences with them." He grunted.

"But Madam Pomfrey is really nice." said Rose.

"Yeah, well they're not all."

Max and Rose hurried to Professor Flitwick's office to do just as Neville had instructed them. Apparently that lesson had been a review to see if everyone remembered what they had learned in past lessons. He told them in a squeaky voice that if they performed the charms now, then they wouldn't be in trouble. So they spent lunch preforming what they had learned and really enjoyed it. Flitwick conjured up some soup for them to eat afterward, having missed lunch. He used a charm to make it float and they all ate it out of the air.

Al and Scor didn't look so cheery when seeing them in the library.

"The old hag is having us rearrange the books in alphabetical order!" Al growled.

"Okay, don't call her a hag, not _all_ the books." Said Scor. "But this does suck."

Rose had just turned to show Max the goblet of water she had just turned to ink in Transfiguration class that day, to find that Max's goblet was oozing a thick brown goop that spread rapidly across his desk and onto his arms. He stood up quickly nocking his desk to the floor and rubbing the steaming sludge off his arms. Rose doused him in water from her wand lazily, being all too used to accidents in Transfiguration.

"Mr. Everard!" called Professor Donima, scooping the goo from the stone floor with her wand. She examined it closely; it was still expanding in the air. Max sat back down looking grumpy and soaking wet. "I-" Donima stammered. "I have never seen any student do _this_ to water. I didn't even know it was possible."

"I like to leave a mark." Said Max.

She sighed. "Extra homework as usual Mr. Everard. Don't have Miss. Weasley do it this time, I can tell, your handwriting is completely different."

"So?" Asked Scorpius when meeting them for dinner. "What did he do this time? I noticed the bandages on his arms."

"He turned water into goo that burnt him." Rose replied.

"How bad?"

"First degree, Max, take your bandages off." She insisted.

"Not now." Max groaned. "I just want to eat."

"Honestly." She huffed pulling a small corner of the bandage off.

Al and Scorpius leaned in. "Ooh, yeah, that looks _real_ bad." Said Scorpius sarcastically seeing as his skin looked completely normal.

"What?" said Rose incredulously. She pulled back the rest of the bandages causing Max to spill his soup.

"Oi!" Max exclaimed trying to rub the broth from his tie. "This stuff is hot!"

"I don't understand it, they all gone, the burns. They were puffy and red and everything, this bit had little white dots too. Won't you look!" Said Rose.

Max peered down. "Huh…" he shrugged uninterestedly.

"What do you mean _huh?_ They're all gone!" she tore off his green band aid that Madam Pomfrey had given him after extracting blood.

"Ow! Hey! What are trying to do?"

"The pinprick is gone, like it wasn't there!"

"So what?" said Max scooting away from her. "I heal quickly."

Rose lifted his arms to check him around thoroughly.

"I don't have wires if that's what you're looking for." He said looking wary.

"I wish I could heal that fast." Scorpius smiled. "It would help me in potions, I'm always singeing myself.'

But Rose was looking at Albus who didn't look so impressed. They both remembered what had happened with the Moonacher antidote, or, what didn't happen.

"Rosie," Al spoke through his enchanted hand mirror to her late at night. She had to stay in the girl's bathroom, so not to wake her roommates. "Look, I found something in _Immune, guide to cheating death,_ about a bulb you can mix in stew to avoid a cold, do you think that could be why he didn't get a cold after Halloween?" Albus suggested.

"He would have told us if that were the case." Said Rose from on top of the counter. "And none of us knew that we would fall asleep on the roof."

"You're wasting your time guys." Said Scorpius from his bed in the background. "Why can't some things just stay a mystery?"

"BECAUSE THERE'S AN ANSWER!" Rose exclaimed frustrated. She was hushed from the other side of the door.

"Tell her to keep it down." Said Alac sleepily from the Slytherin common room. "We're trying to sleep."

"Rose doesn't like uncertainty." Al whispered to Scorpius. "Rose, we've been looking for ages and haven't found a thing better than, spells to heal scratches, or to kill viruses, but those are way to advanced and wouldn't explain why he survived bubbli pods. He couldn't have taken some antidote for them. He didn't know the Rockshood wasn't added, I didn't even know and the antidote to bubbli pods are extremely rare and difficult to take anyway."

"Is Rockshood not the antidote?"

"No, Rockshood absorbs the poison and kills it, but taken alone, is also deadly."

"Max assured me that he didn't know why he doesn't get colds, or heals quickly or survived, and Max can't lie."

"Why not?"

"He won't tell me…"

All of their research had brought them nowhere. They had spoken to Professor Killpii about bubbli pods and Rockshood. They had spoken to Madam Pomfrey and even Professor Neville about some magical plant that could explain Max's apparent and always constant heath, but none of their questions were answered.

The snow continued to fall until a thick layer covered the grass. Slytherin and Ravenclaw had a Quidditch match mid-November. Rose decided to come unbiased owing to the fact that Al was on the Slytherin team, but Molly's boyfriend Phineas was the keeper for the Ravenclaw team. She found herself throughout the game yelling and having to be pulled back by her robes because she had been leaning too far over the edge yelling at the penalty for Ravenclaw just given.

"Calm down won't you?" Max laughed. "Stewart did just grab Locksley's hair."

"It's his own fault for not cutting it." Rose frowned. "Stewart probably didn't mean to grab it."

"Oh yeah," Max nodded sarcastically. "because a beater needs to reach out and grab stuff in the first place. Besides, I'd watch out for Stewart, he seems to harbor Salazar Slytherin's opinion of blood purity."

Max and Rose ran out onto the pitch to meet Al who looked so angry that he almost threw his Firebolt, but being so fond of it, he seemed to change his mind and simply stroked the tail roughly.

"Al!" Rose called finally catching up to him.

"I almost had it!" he growled. Scor made his way toward them too. "I felt the snitch, I hit it toward him! I practically handed it to him!" Al dropped to his knees and grabbed his hair. "I just ruined our chances of winning." They had to bend to hear him say.

"You still have one on up us." Said Max. This cheered him up a bit.

When the four of them weren't in class, or in the library, they were doing homework in the gardens. Snow would fall outside, but behind the ivy covered wall, all four seasons flourished. They spent most of their time in the Autumn area when doing homework, but would use the room that the summer area provided to work on their charms. But on the days that they couldn't sneak off to the gardens without being followed by Danielle Daniels who was almost never seen more than ten yards from Max, they would have to take refuge under a huge oak tree to study.

Apparently the word had gotten out that Max was a dark and dangerous wizard. Poppy Parkinson had started the rumor it turned out, after she had been almost dry drowned. Though a few people were now avoiding him in corridors or in classes, all the Gryffindors knew that he wasn't and it seemed that Max was enjoying the privacy from the other houses.

Al and Scor were assuring others that he wasn't a dark wizard, but Rose wasn't so sure. She knew he wasn't, sure; after all he did have a Hufflepuff dad. But he also had a Slytherin mother who he wasn't fond of, maybe she was dark, maybe he did have dark blood. That wouldn't change her opinion of him of course.

The rumor that Rose and him were interested in each other was flattened my Alexis Micherl who stated very loudly that if there was anything there, then something would have happened already. Danielle had become much more friendly to Rose after that. Of course still asking question after question about Max. Alexis and Rose had grown slightly closer over time. Her utter disgust with germs had become less due to being contained in a confined space with the most disgusting creatures on the planet, humans. Mary had, thankfully, been more distant toward Rose since Cromwell who had recovered and was back to sleeping on Rose's pillow. Danielle was just as nosy as ever. Pamela turned out to be blind; Rose had figured it out the second week of term. Alexis was the only person at the school that she had told about visiting the village and more importantly, about Illya. She had assured her that she had no interest in him in that way, but Alexis refused to believe that. Though Rose was sure that she would keep the secret, she regretted telling her anything because one afternoon on a third floor corridor, Alexis had thought it would be funny to shove Illya into Rose. It wasn't funny at all. Rose had turned red and he had apologized before walking on. His friends laughed at him as he left and one of the guys said, "Trampling little first years now are you? What did that poor little girl do to you?" _Poor little girl?_

She had waved at him without thinking a couple days after Hogsmeade and he had smiled back with a nod but looking confused. She felt like an idiot.

Most of everybody's days were spent playing in the snow. This was Rose's first snow fall with a wand so she had fun manipulating it to do whatever she wanted, like consume Max. They bewitched snowballs to fly at each other in a never ending battle of magic. They all built snowmen and had them fight each other in a tournament where the other houses would get together to see the winning snowmen battle each other while they punched the air and shouted.

Though the days were filled with fun and games, the evenings, were not. The Gryffindors spent all afternoon studying, but no one stayed up later than Rose, and to his displeasure, Maddox. They sat by the fire and were always bending low over books and parchment. Scribbling constantly with quill in tiny writing across her paper. Max always trying to write as big as he could to limit to measure of paper he had to do. The only time Rose ever did this was with History of Magic.

"Augh," Max groaned. "Rose, it's two in the morning, can we please go to bed, everyone else has. I'll finish the paper in the morning."

Rose shut her book abruptly and scowled at him as he laid upside down over the couch. She was irritated, annoyed, and exhausted, emotions that always made her snappish.

"Fine." She huffed. "You can go to bed sure, it's not like the report is due in the morning anyway. You can fail your exams and end up behind a desk at a dead end job because you were never ambitious enough to put the work into your education. I won't say I told you so, but don't expect me to support you and your six kids in future."

"…So that's a yes? Cool, goodnight." Max sat up and headed to bed; a place that she wished she could go to.

She felt bad for jumping at him. She was surprised that he was still her friends given how often she did it. She couldn't admit to anyone, but she hated being alone. She hated it. Loneliness was never a problem back home, she had her parents, the Potters, and her brother Hugo who, she didn't realize, reminded her a lot of Max. His sarcasm, open mindedness, strong fascination in things that others would care less about, and his utter disregard to the completely obvious. For example, Max's complete ignorance to the fact he had a stalker. Danielle was always around him, in the library, grounds, classes, meals, in between corridors. She had thrown herself onto him when ice skating across the Black Lake and had tried to blame it on slipping. Rose, Al, and Scor laughed at the fact that he didn't know she fancied him. Ever since he had found out, Max became uncomfortably aware of her presence and even climbed over tables to avoid her; she never seemed to get the hint.

Rose became more and more tired as November crawled by and into December. She had fallen asleep in Defense Against the Dark Arts and woke terrified to an eruption of sound, then laughter. Professor Dalbert was sitting on the teachers table with an air horn and Max was red from laughing so hard; he had tried to keep her awake until then.

"Sorry," Dalbert said. "Early Christmas present, had to try it."

She had stayed up so late the night before that she had seen Yoman and the other Gryffindor elves climb silently through the portrait hole. She had somehow ended up helping them decorate the Gryffindor common room with garland and tensile. She had difficulty switching out the throw blankets with more festive ones because Max had fallen asleep on a pile of them on the couch and Rose had a furious fight with a sleeping Maddox as they yanked back and forth for throws. Max woke the next morning to find the Gryffindor common room festive and decorated and Rose laughed until her stomach hurt, not at the awe on Max's face, but at his report on Uric the Oddball's childhood story for History of Magic plastered to the side of his face from where he had fallen asleep on the wet ink.

One thing that bothered her over the entire semester, was how little she would mention Scorpius in her letters to home. They would often all write together in the morning during breakfast. Scor was perfectly open in his writing and Rose felt a guilty every time she would see her name because of how little his name was in hers, or at all. She wasn't ashamed of being his friend, not at all, but what her dad would think about their friendship scared her. He hated the Malfoys she knew. He had even made a point to tell her not to get too friendly with him, but she had, he was one of her best friends. Al wasn't worried, Scorpius' name was written several times along his letter. Max's letters were always too short to bare any of their names, but hers, she would never let them see, and she felt like a horrible friend for it.

The Slytherins had been oddly kind this year, compared to what Rose had imagined anyway. Poppy Parkinson and Fraunk were still bullies but nothing the Gryffindors couldn't sort out. Unfortunately for them, they had to be slightly more witting about their approach. Fraunk and Parkinson had somehow become ring leaders of a clan of old school Slytherins. An odd sort of leadership, first year beside a fifth. But they had successfully round every Slytherin in the school it seemed, who hated muggles, blood diversity, and especially Gryffindors.

For some reason, every Gryffindor that had ever done anyone of them wrong, had somehow ended up in either detention or the hospital wing. See, the Slytherin group had a different approach. They would first choose a victim and focus all of their attention on that particular person, then slander their victim slowly until they were in the presence of authority where they would start taunting, mocking, and ridiculing them quietly until their victim couldn't take any more of it and would pop them in the nose, therefor making the first move, getting themselves into trouble, a telling off, or in James' case, detention for punching Pollik in the face after he called a second year a mudblood. Professor Killpii had James rearrange and organize the potions cupboard which consisted of disgusting and slimy ingredients that had smashed and needed to be wiped up.

A mudblood was a crude name for a witch or wizard who was born to muggle parents. Muggle borns.

The four friends seemed to be the only students that the Slytherin group ever openly pulled their wands on; them and Fred. Parkinson had major grudges against them. Scorpius betrayed her _friendship,_ Al had cracked her tooth, Rose had dueled her, and Max had cursed her. Fraunk was always at Fred for his singimigig of course, but Parkinson's ill feelings toward them had reflected on the group who were now always down their throats. Rose was furious to find Scorpius in the hospital wing covered in painful boils.

"I walked in on them doing an initiation in the common room after dark." Scorpius was telling them. "They were giving blood and everything, it was scary. So I threw a few dung bombs in there and ran up the stairs, honestly, I'm surprised this is the worst I got."

Rose felt sorry for Al and Scor who couldn't escape from them ever, they took classes with a few from the group, slept in the same vicinity. They had meals with the Gryffindors every day though. This only seemed to make the group angrier at them. They hadn't yet succeeded in bothering Max though. Rose assumed that Poppy had told them that he was a dark wizard and had clued them in on what he could do. They didn't seem too keen on taking Max on yet and lucky for Rose, she was always with him and was sure that the others knew that if anything happened to her, especially if he was around, that they would be cursed into oblivion. Max was way more protective over his friends than he was over himself. But she was certain that the group was cooking something much worse up for them.

Rose, Scor, and Al had to drag Max away from Poppy because he had attempted swinging at her after she had called Rose's mother a mudblood. They all ended up having to take refuge in the Gryffindor changing room because the group had begun slinging ice at them. Scor locked the door and they all sat shivering. Rose hated this feeling. When they were forced to run or hide. It reminded her every time that she really was only a first year.

"What's their deal?" Rose asked through chattering teeth. "Can't you guys reason with them?"

Max snorted. "There you are trying to keep the peace, wouldn't be much more satisfying to sock them in the face?"

"Of course it would." She huffed. "but because I don't want detention or to be expelled, peace keeper is the best I can do."

"No, we can't _reason_ with them." Said Scorpius. "They hate us, think we should be put in Gryffindor with all the other brutes, they said. We're with Gryffindors more than we are our own house, might as well become one, so they said. We tried to talk them out of it but they wouldn't have it. Called up blood traitors."

"What do the other Slytherins think about all this?" Rose asked.

"Well a few of them have told 'em off." Said Al. "But the rest just let them get on with it. They're not bothering any of them. You may haven't have noticed, but Salazar's views are still very prominent throughout our house. That's what this lot is trying to call themselves, Salazar's."

"Why don't you talk to Professor Donima? Surely she could do something about it."

"One of the seventh years did." Said Scor. "But she said that she can't do anything about it unless she finds proof that they're doing something wrong. They're good though, they don't get caught. They let the Gryffindors do that for them. You guys are so quick to use your fist that you don't always stop to use your brain, no offence."

"Sure because that wasn't offensive at all." Rose scowled.

"Not you, just some of you."

There was heavy pounding on the door.

"You did lock it?" Max asked.

"Course I did."

"So whose initiation did you walk in on?" Max asked.

"Uh," Scor thought. "Relctory and Stewart."

"Stewart!"

"Not your Stewart, our Stewart." Scorpius corrected.

Angelo Stewart was on the Slytherin Quidditch team and Ishmael Stewart was on the Gryffindor's. Everyone thought they were related though they weren't. The fact that they both were the beaters on their teams, and the fact that they both had black hair and brown eyes caused people to highly suspect them siblings. Though in personality, they couldn't be more unalike. Ishmael hated being tied in any way to Angelo.

The pounding on the door was growing louder and shouts could be heard, but not distinguished, from the other side.

"Scor, go see whose there." Al shivered.

Scorpius reluctantly got up and made his way to the door, peering through the crack.

"I think," he mumbled, pushing the door open slightly.

As soon as the door was cracked, it was flung open violently. A hand reached out and grabbed Scor by the coat and pushed him further inward with a wand at his throat.

"Rocky?" Rose exclaimed.

He looked up in surprise pass Scor.

"What are you lot doing in here?" he asked.

"We were… cold." She chose to say, not feeling very keen on telling him that they were hiding.

"We thought you were the Slytherin brutes."

"We?" Rose looked pass Rocky to see Ishmael and Enoc wave at her.

"We've been trying to get in but the door wouldn't unlock, not even with magic."

Rose pulled Scor back by the coat.

"Oh right." Said Rocky patting out the fist of fabric he had made in Scor's jacket. "Sorry 'bout that. Like I said, we thought you were that Slytherin lot raiding or destroying our dressing room."

"Why couldn't you get in here?" she asked.

"Don know." He sighed gesturing to the door. "The unlocking spell wasn't working and we didn't want to destroy it."

"Of course you couldn't get in." scowled Scor re-buttoning his silver buttons. "I hexed it, won't open 'til I want it to."

"Impressive." Rose smiled. "But why are you guys here?"

"Quidditch practice." Rocky grinned.

"Practice? But it's evening, Hufflepuff's evening."

"I just saw their captain, Lime, doing snow angles by the lake; I don't think they're taking advantage of their evening, so we are! James went up to the castle to find you, he won't be pleased."

The Gryffindors were the only team crazy enough to continue training in this weather. The snow was becoming heavier and a full three feet was set across the grounds. The snow whipped and scratched their face as they flew and after every practice the entire team drug themselves to the hospital wing for cold treatment. Madam Pomfrey became so frustrated with their seeming lack of care for their own heath that she told them to stop practice until after the Holidays or else she would no longer treat their virus. Rocky had attempted to schedule practice anyway to which the whole team sternly refused. Rose hugged the Matron after the team left and she was so happy that she limped out, forgetting to ask for treatment for her bludger accident.


	14. Home for the Holidays

" **M** ax?" Rose asked one breakfast. "You one time said that you had a brother, accidentally I think, but I had forgotten to ask about him."

"You didn't forget," Max sighed rolling his eyes. "I believe you had read over my shoulder when I mentioned him to dad and I had told you to leave it alone."

"What's he like? Is he close to your age?" She had decided that if Max was going to be so distant and not share with her, that it was up to her to find answers on her own. She knew plenty of other people who were ashamed of their home life or their family, but none of them were as closed about the subject as Max was. The most she knew about his past was from what he had let slip in first meeting her. She had a feeling that whatever the big secret was, it had affected him strongly. Something big had happened she knew and it wasn't just his mom walking out on them. Whatever it was, she vowed to herself, that she'd find out even if he didn't want to divulge. Was she being nosy? Sure, but she was offended that he didn't trust her.

"Rosie, I know what you're trying to do." He said. "And I'm warning you not to."

"But he is close to your age?" she ignored him.

"We're not far apart, no." he said irritable and through clinched teeth.

"Will I get to meet him next year?"

"No, I don't think you're ever gonna see him." He said.

"Why not? Isn't he coming to Hogwarts?"

"I don't know."

This struck her as odd. "Why not? Shouldn't you know?"

"Nope."

"Oh, is he Baily's kid? You mentioned Baily once."

"Baily is _not_ related to me and I haven't seen my brother since I was seven."

"I thought you said Baily was with your dad."

"Dating my dad."

"What happened to your brother?"

"Will you give it a rest!" he huffed. "It is obvious that I don't want to share, why don't you just respect that and leave me be? Honestly!"

This was how most of their conversations ended when she brought it up. But she had gained a good amount of information this time around. He had a brother close to his age that he hadn't seen in four years, and Baily was his dad's girlfriend. Meaning that Mr. Everard was over his wife and looking again. Well that presents its own struggled on Max.

"Max!" she sung a few days before most of the school were to be heading home for the Holidays.

"Oooh," Max cringed. "That's how you say my name when you want something."

"No it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No it isn't because I don't want anything. Here." She handed him a small piece of paper. "I don't know where Yozenberg is, but if you find that it's not far from the Potter's place, you could stop by around Christmas, that's where we'll be for the week if you're free to visit."

Max stared at the address. "But you _did_ want to give me this note, so you _did_ want something and I was right." He looked back up. "You just wanted me to have this so I'd know where to send your Christmas gift didn't you?" he asked.

"You didn't get me anything!" she asked suddenly.

"Course I did." He shrugged.

"No!" she gasped. "But you told me not to get you anything because you weren't getting me anything and you didn't want to feel like a jerk! But you did, you horrible person!" she hit him in the arm with, _Magical Places and How to Enter._

"Chill out chick!" he said taking the book from her. "I just didn't want anything."

"Well too bad." She huffed taking the book back from him. "I got you something anyway."

"Wait, then why are you so upset at me?" he asked bemusedly.

"Because if I hadn't had ignored you and didn't get you anything, then I would have been the jerk." She tucked the book under her arm and stormed off, but not before hearing Max mumble something that sounded like, " _Women._ " As he rubbed his arm.

"Are you two packed?" Rose asked Al and Scorpius the day before the Holidays.

"I am, Scor's not."

"Well you better get to it, for every hour you procrastinate, you'll forget to pack one thing." Said Rose.

"You made that up." Al said raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah but Hugo always buys it."

"What's wrong with you?" Scor said peering at Max who was scratching words into the table. "You seem to be the only one who is- glum today."

"I'm not really looking forward to the Holidays." He said truthfully.

"Why not!" Rose exclaimed. "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" she sang.

"What about it is so special for you guys?"

Al opened his mouth but Rose cut across not noticing.

"You get to see family! And friends, you all come together to laugh and talk. You wrap presence and get to see everyone's faces when they open them." She was now leaning on her elbow staring starry-eyed at the snow falling from the enchanted ceiling. "You spend all day baking and playing in the snow, ice skating and picking out the biggest, prettiest tree. You tell stories and drink hot chocolate, string popcorn and carol. We shake our presents to try'n figure out what it is, we sing by the piano, which nobody knows how to play I might add. Then on Christmas Eve night, we all have dinner then we listen to the Christmas story. Then we all bundle up in blankets and watch the fairies glowing outside like Christmas lights, then we all try, and fail, to get to sleep that night all anticipating the mornings events."

There was a small pause.

"You guys have a piano but can't play it?" Max asked.

"And I suppose you can?"

"Yes actually, I've had lessons since I was four."

"You've never told me that!" said Rose.

"I don't enjoy it too much."

"Is there anything else we should know about you?" asked Scorpius.

"Yup."

"Tell us one!" said Al.

Max looked hesitant for a moment. "I can play the flute." he said, quickly looking down.

Rose decided to spare him Al and Scor's near outburst of laughter.

"What don't you like about your Holiday?"

"Well," he started. "the week leading up to Christmas is full of boring Christmas formals where I'm forced to wear a suit and either stay in the kids' room with the other children so the adults aren't disturbed. Either that, or I am forced to play piano for them. Then we eat some kind of foreign food on Christmas Eve because none of us know how to cook and only foreign restaurants are open at that time. Then we hand each other something around lunch on Christmas day."

"Well that's depressing." Said Al after a moment.

"I know what you mean about boring Christmas formals though," said Scorpius. "Just hang by the food table and the night may not be a total waist."

The next morning Rose hurried down the stairs with a small bag of clothes and set them in a very large pile of luggage near the oak front doors, and she hurried into the great hall to find her friends already seated at the Gryffindor table. Rose and Max no longer sat by the Slytherins in fear that the Salazar's would try'n poison their food.

"Merry Christmas!" she sang as she skipped over and jumped between Max and Scorpius.

"Merry Christmas to you too." Said Fred from a couple spots away.

The post arrived with hundreds of owls swooping in. The students, who were all too used to this, held their hands over their favorite dish or beverage to protect it from falling feathers. Very few items arrived that day, Rose assumed that it was because parents were seeing their kids later in the day and felt it unnecessary to talk now.

A grey envelope fell in front of Max who flipped it backward halfheartedly to see the address.

"Oh." he groaned throwing it behind him.

"Max?" Rose blinked. "You didn't even open it." She picked it up off the ground and was surprised to find that it was rather heavy. "It's heavy." She stated aloud. "Whose it from?"

"My grandad."

"You mean the one that you absolutely hated?"

"No, the other one. I don't like him either though."

Rose tore it open without asking and poured ten Galleons into her palm. "Max, this is a lot of money." She said staring at the sparkling gold.

"I don't want it." He said not looking up. "You can have it if you want."

"I don't want it!" she said. "It's yours."

"Scorpius? Al? Nobody? Okay." He took the money from her hand and without warning threw the coins onto the ground between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table which clanged loudly against the stone floor. "FREE MONEY!" be bellowed, then turned back toward his bagel without watching to crowd of students attack the pile like animals.

Rose and the rest of them stood on their bench with open mouths to see what had just happened.

"What'd you do that for!" Al exclaimed.

"I don't want his money, and you guys weren't taking it. He thinks he can send me money and everything'll be alright."

"What thing?" Rose tried.

"Everything." Said Max warningly.

Everyone who wasn't staying at Hogwarts over Christmas were happy to find that they only had to walk to the horseless carriages waiting for them at the iron gates rather than all the way to Hogsmeade station. The slush from the walkway was very squashy and everyone kept slipping and sliding around. Luckily, their luggage had already been brought out they supposed given that it was no longer in the castle.

One girl who hadn't brought her luggage down in time for it to be magically moved was having to get help from James and Fred to move her entire trunk across the grounds. They reluctantly heaved it onto one of the carriages. While Scor, Rose, and Max climbed into one.

"Al, come on." Rose encouraged.

He was standing at the front of the carriages peering at the empty space where a horse should be. Both Max and Rose knew that Al wasn't staring at an empty space, but at an invisible thestral. Thesrals were skeletal like, leathery black Pegasus'. They were rumored to be bad luck only because one can only see them if that person had witnessed a death that has affected them.

"I hope I'll never have to see one." Said Al.

"Leave it alone." Said Rose pulling him aboard.

The carriage kicked back and started bumpily down the road pass the two stone bores that flagged the gates. The ride wasn't long at all, much shorter than their boat ride across the lake in first year. The scarlet steam engine was waiting for them at the platform, puffing smoke and whistling merrily. Al and Scor wasted no time in running on board and saving their seats. Rose and Max had fallen behind and were soon in a throng.

"MAXY!" came a loud shout.

Max looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

"It wasn't me." She assured him.

"MAXY! MAX!" they both turned to see Danielle Daniels beckoning him toward her.

Max groaned and started in her direction with Rose close by.

"I would like to speak to you in private!" she yelled.

Max looked at Rose pleadingly, but she simply smiled and hopped onto the engine, thinking that whatever words were exchanged in her absence would be funnier anyway. She watched though one of the windows in the train corridor, Danielle give him a brightly wrapped package, then whispered something in his ear. She couldn't see any more due to the large crowd pushing her onward. She joined Scor and Al in the last compartment and propped her feet by Scor.

"If you're gonna do that," said Scorpius with a sideways glance at her shoes. "then you really should take your boots off, they're all muddy anyway."

"Where's Max?" Al asked.

"Talking to Danielle." She smiled.

"Ohhh, when'll he be-? Never mind." Said Al. Max had just come through the compartment door slowly holding the yellow and silver package.

"What's- oh!" the train had just given a huge lurch and started onward. "That was fast." She looked out the window to see an empty platform sliding by.

"What's in the box?" Scorpius asked.

"Dunno." Max shrugged. "I was told not to open it until Christmas."

"And you're gonna wait?"

"No." Max snorted tearing the paper off. He stopped before opening the box itself. "If I don't come back alive, I would like to say that, Scorpius gets my telescope and-"

"Oh just open it." Rose, grinned.

Max pulled something fuzzy and multicolored from the package.

"How lovely!" Scorpius laughed. "Oh it really brings out your eye colors!" he wrapped the scarf around Max's neck and he and Al sat back to mock admiring faces at the affect.

"Shut up." Said Max as he tore it off. It was yellow and pink striped with purple tassels. "There's more." He groaned.

The others leaned in excitedly. He pulled out a box of chocolates, a keychain with an animated shooting star for Astronomy and a card. The card looked to be handwritten and he opened it cautiously. As soon as the paper folds had separated, the card flung open and a thick purple fog engulfed them all and he dropped the note which was still producing smoke. They all couched while feeling around for where it had fallen. The smoke was thinning a bit, and they found that it was because Fred, Roxanne, and the rest of the Flock had opened the compartment door. They all coughed at the doorway as well.

"What kind of spell went wrong to cause this?" Fred said. "It was you wasn't it, Al?"

"I don't think so." Said Roxy picking up the card which had half slid under the now open door. She wiped a few sizzling beads off the paper and which fell to the ground, spit one last puff of smoke, and dissolved.

"Puff Pellets." Said Roxy examining the powder between her fingers. "It was used wrong though. They're only supposed to be put in liquids like punch or perhaps a handful in a cup of water on the porch to coat the doorstep in fog. But not used by themselves or else, well, this'll happen."

"Who is this from?" Fritz asked trying to peer at the name on the card.

Ortho took it from Roxy's hand. " _To Maddox Everard_ _,_ " he read aloud in a higher girl's voice, grinning.

"No!" Max tried snatching the note. "Please, don't read that!"

" _I know that we don't talk often, but I wanted to say that I think you're really cute_ _,_ " Ortho snorted. Max was becoming red in the face, but couldn't get through the Flock, Ortho being in the back anyway. " _and I think that we should hang out sometime. I hope you like my gift, I bought it because they were your favorite colors. -Merry Christmas, Danny. D_ "

Max had his face covered.

"You know, covering your face won't make you disappear." Said Cian who had just joined the crowd. "What's his deal?" Ortho handed her the card which she read. "Awe." She cooed. "Why are you so embarrassed? I thought you two were friends."

"No!" Max exclaimed.

"But I always see her with you."

"You always see her following me!"

"Awe, you have an admirer." She cooed again.

"A stalker." He corrected angrily.

"Well when you say it like that it doesn't sound so cute."

Max stood up and closed the door as the Flock laughed, still holding the card. They finally left and Max sat red faced.

"I didn't know pink, yellow, and purple were your favorite colors." Said Scorpius.

"They're not."

"You shouldn't be so upset." Said Al. "I didn't get any gifts from admirers."

"That's not true." Scor corrected.

"Ah, yup, you're right. Parkinson gave me a biting teacup. She must have thought I was really stupid. Carful when opening gifts this year, all of you. If it's from an unknown address, then don't open it! A Gryffindor I think sent Relctory a box of Woodland Pixies. Destroyed the common room, they did."

The ride was a lot longer than they had remembered it being. They all mostly enjoyed it though, they performed spells and hexes, knowing that they weren't permitted to use their wands at home. Al had engorged a Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean thinking that it was cherry, it ended up being earthworm. So instead, Rose had a few cauldron cakes float in the air while the jelly bean rolled across the compartment floor. Because of the cold outside, Max had lit a blue flame fire in midair so they all could warm up by it and they watched the compartment across from them have a similar idea and try desperately to put out the fire that had engulfed their curtains. Max was enjoying the ride back much more than the ride there.

"Yeah, I was in the compartment with Oliver, Owen, Oscar, and Olivia."

"The quadruplets?"

"The quince."

"Oh right, one of them's a-"

"Squib. They're friendly enough but can be rather overbearing."

"I don't see you guys talk much in the common room."

"Well no, we talked, well, they talked a lot in the compartment but if that friendship isn't watered, it'll die."

"It'll die!" Al exclaimed.

"What?"

"My Umple shrub!"

"Your-?"

"My Umple shrub! From the first Herbology lesson. Neville called me back and gave me a seed and made me swear not to tell anyone where I got it, so, uh, shhh. I've been taking care of it, it's coming along really well isn't it Scor?"

"Yeah, real nice."

"But I forgot to bring it and I didn't leave instructions for Quin! It'll die!"

"Will you calm down." Rose roller her eyes. "Just write to Neville when we get home and ask if he'll water it."

"It can't be watered! It has to-"

"Whatever need be done with it, he is the Herbology teacher and I'm sure he'll be well up to the task."

As they were entering London – well, she assumed given she sudden change from mountain to vast buildings – Al had fallen asleep on her lab, and Scor on her shoulder. Max was half asleep on the bench opposite.

"Max?" she whispered.

"Hm?"

"Tell me about Baily."

"Not now, not today." He groaned without opening his eyes.

"She seems nice, how old is she?"

"Old enough to be my sister." He whispered.

"Oh, how old is your dad?"

"Forty-seven, I think."

"Then, why is he dating someone young enough to be your sister?"

"Because she's attractive. She's dating him because he's… not poor."

"Do you like her?"

"I'm just waiting."

"For what?"

"For her to leave just like all the rest of them."

"What? So does she not like you?"

"She doesn't know me. Pretends I don't exist. Except around dad where she squeezes my cheek, which is sometimes worse."

"How long have they been dating?"

"Four months."

"Why doesn't she like you…? Max?"

He had fallen asleep. She knew that he wouldn't have told her so much unless he was really tired and not all there.

Rose had to wake Al and Scor really just to help her wake Max. hey had difficulty getting off the train because of the crowd.

"Max!" Scorpius called. "You forgot this!" he threw Danielle's scarf around Max's neck and Rose was sure that Max hadn't forgotten about it.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSE TO OPEN THAT UNTIL CHRISTMAS!" They heard Danielle call from quite a distance away. She was grinning broadly, apparently very pleased to see him wearing it. As soon as she was out of sight, Max ripped it off and swung it at Scor who was laughing.

The thick layer of steam that the train was producing made it difficult to find her family. She and Max made their way through the crowd, Al had somehow been separated. She pushed and shoved only to hit a smaller boy.

"Sorry." She mumbled but then noticed that the boy was holding her around the waist. "Hugo!" she exclaimed hugging him. He led her and Max to Rose's parents, and there they were, almost all of them smiling at her. She jumped into her dad arms almost in tears. She hadn't realized how much she had missed them until seeing them all here. He hugged her mom, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, Uncle Bill and Aunt Flur, and greeted Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey. She greeted Lily, Hugo, Lucy and Louis.

"This is Max." said Rose finally backing away.

"So this is him?" asked Hermione shaking his hand.

"So you're the boy who was caught out of bed after hours with Rose?" asked her dad half sternly.

"Er, yes sir." Said Max with a sideways glance at Rose. "Um, delivering a letter."

"I've heard you've been a great help to Rosie in Astronomy."

"Least I can do since all her help with Transfiguration." He replied.

Ron smiled at him for the first time and the entire family began shaking his hand which took a really long time.

As soon as all the greeting were dispersed, the family turned to welcome Al back.

"So?" said Rose rocking back and forth on her heels. "Where's your dad?" she was eager to get a glimpse of his family.

"They'll be late." He shrugged.

"That's alright, I'll wait."

"No!" he exclaimed suddenly which made Rose stop rocking. "I don't want to hold you up."

"Really it's alr-" but she stopped talking when Max hugged her and muttered, " _Merry Christmas._ " Before walking away at a brisk pace.

She was taken aback for a moment. First because Max had just hugged her and he was not a very _touchy_ guy. Second because she blinked and he was gone.

She spotted him about ten yard away and watched him confusedly through the mist as a young woman with a tight pencil skirt, short blonde hair and bright red lips came to stand in front of him. It was difficult to make out her face exactly because of the thick cloud of smoke that was issuing from her mouth and pipe. Rose watched the woman, she could only assume was Baily, turn to look behind her, then pinch Max's cheek. A tall man joined them, he had a hat on which made distinguishing his face impossible. Rose guessed that this man was his dad.

"Come on Rosie." She heard her mom say and felt a soft hand take hers. "It's time to go sweetheart. I have a casserole cooking." She was steered away but looked back in time to see Max pull away from the woman's dragon nails, then the steam became too thick to see anything else.

"Where's Scor?" Rose asked Al who was walking next to her.

"Left." Al replied. "Gone home."

"Without saying goodbye?"

"Well he waved, but couldn't make it over before his dad steered him out."

"You met Draco?" she asked curiously.

"Well I said hi," Al replied. "but he kind of just nodded to me and left. His wife smiled though."


	15. An Unexpected Visitor

**R** ose took a step through her front door and took a deep breath, she missed that cinnamon pumpkin smell. She carried her bag up the stairs and into her room to collapse on her bed and curl up in her comforter. She missed the feel of her sheets, of her bed, the smell of her pillow. She glanced at the pile of stuffed animals in the corner, " _Hello again._ " She whispered to them after making sure that nobody was looking, she didn't want Hugo to catch her talking to her toys. Rose pulled a lump that she had been laying on out, and found, " _Fwudgy!_ " she exclaimed hugging her plush pygmy puff. She had neglected to bring him to school because she didn't want to be made fun of, but seeing how all the rest of the girls in her dormitory had brought toys, she wouldn't be making the mistake of leaving him again.

"Don't get too comfortable." Said Hermione from the doorway. "You're gonna need to pack, we're heading to the Potter's first thing tomorrow. But first, we need you to come downstairs for dinner."

Every year, the whole family would get together at one of their houses for the week leading up to Christmas. It was with Grandma and Grandpa Weasley at the burrow last year; this year it was the Potters turn. As far as she knew, everyone was going to make it except her Uncle Charlie who lived in Romania tending to dragons. He had to work over the Holiday and couldn't make it. Him and the Granger Grandparents who were celebrating Christmas in Iceland this year.

Rose hardy ate that evening, she was talking excitedly for over an hour about her whole year so far and telling them everything, well, almost everything about the exciting stuff that had happened so far. About helping Hagrid, Quidditch training and games, about the subjects so far and helping the elves decorate the common room and for the first time, she had talked openly about Scorpius as a friend. To her surprise and delight, Ron didn't seem very displeased about their friendship. He was hesitant at first until Rose continued on and on about how big of a help he's been for Albus and in helping her with homework because of Quidditch. At the end of her one-sided argument with her dad, he responded with only, "So how much _does_ he like the Chudley Cannons?"

"Mom?" she asked. "Where were Grandma and Grandad Weasley? I didn't see them on the platform."

"They've been at the Potter's all day, them and Grandma Tonks. Their getting everything cleaned and ready for us all tomorrow."

Rose ran up to her room and found a rather large pile of parcels on her desk chair, and with closer inspection, found that they were the gifts she had ordered for Christmas presents. Her family had once tried to do a Jolly Troll type of thing where you'd draw a name from a hat and buy that person a Christmas gift, because the family had gotten too large for the kids to buy something for everyone. The issue was, the younger kids would make stuff out of paper or card bored to give to their Troll, while the older kids would actually have to buy something. The gifts had become inconsistent and Fred, Roxanne, and James would always try to give joke gifts. Jolly Troll ended when Fred gave Hugo a toilet plunger.

Rose spent the rest of the night unwrapping the gifts and rewrapping them in brightly colored paper and with bows, she soon regretted the neatness of the first three gifts because it was time consuming and she found that she would have to do this to all the rest too. After almost crying when realizing that she had forgotten to put nametags on them and didn't know whose was whose, she had Hugo come and help her unwrap and rewrap them all without the concern she had used the first time.

After finishing the gifts, packing them all away and packing clothes for the week at the Potter's, it was three in the morning.

Rose had thought that in all the time of her being gone, that a lot would have changed at the house, but it didn't. She came downstairs the next morning to find her dad at the kitchen table reading the Wizarding newspaper, _The Daily Prophet,_ and drinking coffee with more cream and sugar than coffee. Her mom was eating oatmeal with a book in her hand as usual, and as usual, Hugo woke up exceptionally late the only thing that had seemed to change, was Hugo's hair which had been cut and looked much neater than the mop of curls that he had before, and that he had seemed to grow three inches.

Ron dropped the paper and suggested a game of Quidditch, wanting to see what Rocky had taught her so far. He was thoroughly impressed with her new chaser skill and was nearly unseated a couple times as she sped pass him. "I have never been more proud." He said as they flew to the ground.

"Rosie, we're going by floo so grab your soot robe." Said Hermione slipping a very shabby robe around Hugo.

Floo powder was a very quick way of travel that consists of standing underneath your fireplace, throwing floo powder on the ground by your feet, yelling where you needed to go, and being swept away in harmless green flames to your destination. This can sometimes be messy if the fireplace that you were traveling to or from hadn't been cleaned in a while. Rose slipped her soot robes on, put her luggage, one small bag of clothes, under her robe as well, and her broom, and waited. Hugo went first. He took a handful of powder from a bowl that Hermione was offering him, called, " _The Potter's!_ " and with a rush of green flame, he disappeared. Hermione went next, then Rose was ushered in.

She took the handful of powder, called, " _The Potter's_ " and felt a warm sort of tickling that rose up her body, then suddenly, she was being sucked down a drain, or so it felt. She was spinning very violently and knew to keep her eyes shut tight, otherwise the oatmeal she ate this morning would be coming up to greet her. She kept her arms tucked in and remained as stiff as a board. Knowing that is she didn't, her arms or legs would slam against the spinning wall and would likely fly off. She felt her feet hit something solid at last and opened her eyes to find herself in the Potter's living area. Jumping out of their fireplace quickly as to not be trampled by her dad who was probably seconds behind, she used the rug in front of her to wipe her feet before entering the room.

She greeted Harry and Ginny again who were waiting on the couch for everyone to arrive. Then she hugged Grandma Tonks, Teddy's grandmother, greeted Grandad Weasley who was almost completely bald except for the ring of reddish-grey hair he had still wrapped around his head. He warned her to just say a small hello to Grandma Weasley who was going frantic trying to scrub the already spotless countertop.

The Potter's had a very nice house with a large staircase leading to a balcony, many wide windows letting in the rays of sunlight shine across their wood floors. Many pictures of their kids and whole family lined the walls and shelves, and a wonderful smell of apple cake filled the house. Rose didn't stop to take in any of its splendor, she had almost been raised here. She stopped before the staircase to take notice of a picture on a small table near the front door where every visitor could see it. It was the one of James dressed as a muggle in Hogsmeade. It didn't look like Hogsmeade though, Rose remembered this picture, they had paid to get it taken in front of a stretch of stone wall. In the photograph that was moving as most pictures do in the Wizarding world, James was posing proudly in his red Victorian frock coat, mustache, and cane. He tipped his top hat when he saw Rose looking and she had to suppress a laugh.

"ALBUS!" she called up the stairs.

A door opened and Al ran out wearing dress clothes.

"You lost!" he called to her.

"What do you mean I lost?"

"Percy and Audrey got here first and I lost two sickles to James." He explained sliding down the banister.

"I was playing Quidditch." She explained.

"Aren't you a little tired of Quidditch? I mean the one time you're not forced to train; you do it anyway."

"Actually, I was about to drag you outside for a game."

"No need, I'm coming."

"Not dressed like that you're not." Said Aunt Ginny.

She hadn't played with Al since Rocky had asked him to feel in, and it felt wonderful being in the air with him again. Their seemingly psychic connection enabled them to know exactly where to throw the quaffle and when. As the game went on, the members of the family who were arriving took to the air with them, all extremely impressed with Al's flying, not having ever seen him play this well. They now had enough players to make two complete teams. And after Harry put a charm around the house to keep the snitch and the bludgers from flying off the property; they were able to have beaters finally.

Rose had tried desperately to get her Uncle George to play this position, but he kept refusing. He and his late twin brother Fred, had been beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team when they had been at Hogwarts and George hadn't played beater since Fred died. Rose assumed that it was because it reminded him of his loss when he played. Rose forced Fred to play beater and only he was able to convince his dad to play again. It took a while, but the delay was worth it when seeing the looks on her parents, Aunts and Uncles faces to finally be seeing Fred and George play together again. Grandma Weasley was brought to tears. Angelina, Harry, and Ron joined their team, along with Rose, and Aunt Ginny who both filled in as chasers. Between the two teams, it was the most competitive game she had ever seen. Parent against child, of age against minor, brother against sister and cousin against cousin. After every game, a rematch was declared, everyone being all too stubborn than to lose to each other.

That's how most evenings passed, in the air. The days were spent cooking delicious foods and decorating the house with garland and wreath. Playing in the snow and shooting off fireworks, they had a rather large hill that was perfect for sledding down and the snow continued to fall thicker and harder as the days went by.

Three days before Christmas, the whole family took a long hike into the woods to select a Christmas tree. At the top of the hill, beautiful trees all different shapes and sizes. The Potters had planted them here last year and helped them along with a bit of magic, now never having to pay for a tree again. Her Uncle Percy kept trying to get them to choose a small, skinny tree, saying that because of the smaller trunk, the sap would be more compressed giving the branches a stronger smell, Rose knowing that he had no idea what he was talking about. They decided on a thick full Fraser fir that stood proudly amongst its fellows. Sure the hike up was fun, she had just ate and was full of energy, the hike down however, was brutal. They had flattened the snow on the way up making the way down much more slippery. Thank goodness they had wands to elevate the tree rather than having to carry it, Rose couldn't imagine how muggles would have to carry the tree around with them. She felt sorry for Bill, Harry, Ron, who were carrying Lucy, Lily, and to his discomfort, Louis, who wanted very deeply to complete the hike on his own, but couldn't manage to keep up let alone on his feet.

Though the tree was perfect when they had chosen it, it seemed to have grown four feet since they got it into the house. Angelina suggested shrinking it, but decided otherwise when Lily and Lucy guarded the tree with their bodies, Lucy actually hugging the trunk of the tree crying, " _Please No! It's perfect!_ " Percy had pulled her out to find her covered from head to toe in sap.

The women had the guys decorate the tree while they worked on cooking. The guys had tried to help at one time and ended up burning the muffin dough recipe. Al and herself had decided to stay up late that day with Ginny and Hermione to fix the tree where the guys had gotten a little carried away when competing on who can hang the ordainments highest. The days were spent, if not outside, then in the Livingroom playing bored games while Victoire and Dominique strung popcorn from the tree. The adults were often in other rooms to wrap presents and place them under the already rather large pile under the branches. The kids Rose's age and under would spend hours shaking gifts and trying to figure out what's in them. James had said that he had become too old for that childish game, but Louis was more than pleased to show the family a picture he had caught on his camera of James, after everyone else had gone to bed, alone, shaking gifts. Louis always had a camera around his neck and took pictures of anything and everything. Only being ten, Louis somehow had a way of making a picture of a pencil look like art. The family knew not to use the Potter's second bathroom between two o'clock and four because Louis and his dad Bill would be developing photos in a particular potion to make them move.

Rose almost felt bad when she was around her family, laughing, and exchanging stories, knowing that Max was at all these boring winter formals, stuck with Baily whose character, Rose didn't seem too fond of.

Because James has announced to everyone on the platform heading to school, that Teddy and Victoire were snogging, everyone now knew.

It was no surprise of course, but the two had become a lot more open about their relationship and would cuddle in front of the fire a lot and would be all gitty with each other, which James found disgusting. The only time Teddy was really away from Victoire was when he was helping the kids sneak out of the house. When the women were going frantic about preparations, Teddy would take them to a small cave next to the creek.

"You can survive out here for a while." Teddy would whisper seriously. "I'll bring you all food twice a week and clean linens once, so don't go through them too quickly. You all stay out here and I'll send you a smoke signal when the chaos is clear. You got that?"

Fred, Roxanne, and James would spend hours in James room, Rose assumed that they were working on the singimigig antidotes. George would join them often to help and Rose had walked in on them one day to tell them that dinner was ready. What she had found was an unoccupied cauldron smoldering on James desk, its occupants, too busy standing on James bed wresting to get George unstuck from one of James old jumpers. Half of George's face and red hair was showing though the neck of the sweater, his stomach was visible, as his arms were stuck above his head. Angelina was laughing in James' desk chair at the situation and after a pause, George's muffled voice said,

"Believe me, this sounded like a good idea at the time… he made me do it!" He pointed at James.

"Did not!"

Rose ran from the room to get Louis's camera.

Christmas Eve had arrived bringing much chaos and movement. Everyone was hurrying around to get everything ready for that night's dinner. Rose was one of the ones stuck helping in the kitchen, and she didn't even like cooking. The guys were stringing peas and counting marshmallows for the pudding.

"Do we really have to have the exact number of marshmallows?" Ron complained after getting to three hundred. Grandma Weasley raised her eyebrows at him threateningly. "Yes ma'am." He said quickly. "Three-hundred-one, three-hundred-two, three-hundred-three…"

"Vicky! James!" Grandma Weasley shouted. "Behave yourselves!"

The mound of snow they were trying to drop down Teddy's shirt slipped from their hands and down his neck anyway.

Rose envied Hugo who she knew was safely away from this mess, probably talking to Grandad Weasley who shares his love for all things muggle and comparing their collections. Rose noticed Roxy chasing Fred with a snowball the size of a snowman's head from outside the window and was about to speak in protest against their unjustified freedom, but was distracted by a huge gust of smoke from the pot that she was supposed to be stirring. By dinner time, both she and her mom's hair had come out of its bun and was a great ball of frizz. She was running around the table switching all the forks from right to left after the guys had set the table, correctly actually, but Percy had thought to take it upon himself to go around and 'fix' it for them.

The doorbell rang announcing their first guest. The Neville and his wife, Hannah, walked through the door and out of the storm with a couple gifts. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny hugged Neville and Al grabbed his hair and exclaimed,

"My Umple shrub!"

"Calm down, son." Neville smiled. "I've asked Professor Kemp to tend to it."

"The Headmaster?" Al gasped.

"Yes, he should be well up to the task. He was the Herbology Professor at one time you know?"

Hannah took hair long blonde hair from her hat and hung it on the hat stand before hugging them all. Another knock on the door told them that the Scamander's had arrived. Luna was one of her and Al's parents school friends and since knowing her, she had married Rolf Scamander and had twin boys Lorcan and Lysander who looked a lot like their mother with blonde hair and protuberant eyes, but was a lot more down to earth like their dad.

Luna and the rest were greeted just as warmly and everyone was ushered from the foyer to the highly decorated dining room for Christmas Eve dinner. Everything was brought out and looked delicious. It tasted even better though. Everyone was talking, some with food in their mouths, and they all were listening to Luna talk about her and Rolf's adventure in South America. Though what could be a potentially thrilling tail was told by a rather poor story teller. Luna would talk excitedly and passionately in her usual airy voice about a large purple flower they had found in the jungle of Brazil, but would skim over the exciting parts like being attacked by fire crabs or being held at spire point by Pulkies. When James had asked for more information on the Pulkies, Luna responded with, " _They're small and grey_."

The doorbell rang again and the others looked at each other curiously.

"We weren't expecting anyone else were we, dear?" Ginny asked.

"No, Hagrid's staying at Hogwarts with Grawp and McGonagall is on Holiday." Harry replied.

"Oh!" Luna said so suddenly as Ginny was getting up, that it made the whole family jump. "Don't answer it Ginny! It's a Skiffly, they roam around during winter and suck the soul out of those who answer the door."

"I'll take the chance." Said Neville rolling his eyes and standing up. He and Luna had also been school friends and though he liked her a lot, he never understood or bought any of her fantasy creatures or superstitions.

Rose ate a biscuit quite contentedly while trying to listen for whoever was at the door. She listened as the door was opened and a gust of wind swept through.

"Oh!" she heard Neville say. "I didn't know you were- okay- calm down- okay- I'll get her. Hey Rosie!"

She froze when reaching for her goblet, why did he want her? Did whoever was at the door want her? If so, for what?

"Excuse me." She said standing up and wiping the crumbs from her red Christmas dress. As she turned the corner, she saw, "Max!"

He was wearing a dinner jacket and bowtie, his hair, which was a dull brown, looked windswept and iced over and his eyes were a goldish hazel which she knew they became when he was distressed. His hands were fidgety in front of him and he was shivering. Her smile fell as she looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Hi- um- *gulp* oh-" he stopped before entering the house and wiped his feet on the welcome mat outside, then stepped in. "Hi, Rosie…"

"What's wrong with you?" she asked again more slowly.

"I-well I- um…" he chocked. "Hold on," he gasped. "it was freezing outside. Do you think I could have some, water? You look nice by the way."

Rose turned around to the whole family who had left their seats to watch, and reached out to Al who handed her his goblet that he had brought with him. She handed it to Max worriedly, and he sipped gratefully.

"This isn't water." He said giving it back to her who gave it back to Al without looking. "It's good though, thanks."

"Can I have a moment please?" she turned around to ask. "Just us, just a moment." She added to Al who looked tempted to join.

Everyone else nodded and stepped back a couple spaces. Rose directed Max into Harry's office which was closest, and Neville sat on the stairs to wait. She led him to the small sofa against the wall and stared at him.

"Tell me what happened." She said really quite frightened.

"He asked her to marry him."

"Who?"

"Dad and-"

"Bailey?"

"Yeah…"

"Tell me about it."

"Right there!" he started now becoming stronger in words and quite frantic. "Right in front of me, during dinner. He knows I hate her he knows I don't want her around and he pops the question like I didn't exist! He told me, he promised me he wouldn't! Then he goes'n-" his fists were clinched in his lap.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"I ran…. I stood up, and I left."

"What about-?" she started, but was interrupted my Max who didn't seem to hear her.

"She walks right into our lives, and spends all of our money, I can't breathe when she's around, always smoking, takes over our house, our privacy. I'm pushed aside to make room for her. It's been the worst four months of my life, everything is about her and Clent…"

"Whose Clent?"

"Dad. She won't be my mom I swear it." He said through gritted teeth.

Rose had to think about this one for a moment, at first she had thought that he was trying to say that Clent won't be his mom. She often had to stop to decipher what he was trying to say.

"How did you get here?"

"Broom."

"How long?"

"Two hours."

"Two hours!" she exclaimed. "In this storm? You could die! How come you don't even have a sniffle?"

"I don't get sick easy, you know that."

"Why didn't you just use floo?"

"Dad doesn't use floo, says it's for poor people."

"You should tell Clent where you are, he's probably worried sick."

Max gave a harsh laugh. "No he's not, but I left a note anyway."

She looked at him for a moment, not being able to think of anything to say, then finally, she hugged him.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you." She said. "I'm not going to pretend I know how you feel cause I don't." she pulled away to see him wipe his eye real fast, trying to conceal a tear. "You know, we're having dinner, your free to join us if you'd like."

"I'm not hungry." He said.

"You're never not hungry and I doubt you ate much at dinner tonight, but I'm not going to force you."

Max laughed weakly. "That's a first."

"Would you like me to stay with you?"

"Nah," he waved. "You go enjoy dinner, I could probably use a moment anyway."

She left the office apprehensively and shut the door behind her. Neville stood up from the stairs to look at her.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked.

"Family stuff, parents." She answered.

"Are you sure you should leave him alone right now?"

"There's not much else I can say right now." She said. "I don't know what to say. I can't relate to how he's feeling, and he wants me to go back to dinner, he doesn't want to ruin my Christmas Eve." She turned to head to the dining area and rather than joining her, Neville entered the office.

"What's wrong with him?" Al asked as she took a seat at the table again.

"Baily."

"Who?"

"Was his soul stolen?"

"No, Lorcan, his soul was not stolen."

"Will be joining us?"

"Maybe."

"What if we-"

"We'll see." Interjected Audrey with a nod toward Rose who was grateful for the pause in questions.

Rose wasn't eating much now; she was thinking about what's going to happen to Max. Whether he'll have to go back to his dad's and talk things out; she couldn't imagine that going very well. Or if he'd stay there with them.

She was stabbing her sprouts with a fork, hardly listening to Luna describe the cushiness of a sleeping bag, when she heard footsteps behind her and spun to see Neville escorting Max in with a hand on his shoulder. Maddox looked as though he had been crying. There was a pause where everyone stared at him as though waiting for him to do something. Ginny stood up and shook his hand kindly.

"Hello, Max." she smiled. "I shook your hand on the platform last week didn't I?"

"I, I'm unsure." He replied. "I had lost count."

"Well that's easy to do in this family, here, let's get you a seat." She looked around.

"Budge up, Molly." Said Albus. "Here, Max, you can sit by me!"

Max took a seat and looked around awkwardly.

"Don't just sit there." Said Ron. "Go head and grab yourself a plate."

Max took a deep breath and reached toward the stack of plates, his hair becoming a light shade of purple again.

"OH!" Teddy exclaimed so loudly that Max dropped the plate which shattered on the ground. Teddy used his wand to fix the plate while saying, "So _you're_ the metamorphmagus Gryffindor! I knew I recognized the name Max but couldn't put my finger on it! Rosie's mentioned you at least a thousand times in her letters, you're the one who has like six names!"

"Actually, I only have one name, I just go by a few others." Max relied.

Because Teddy had broken the conversation ice, the family began to ask him questions and talk, all trying to remember what Rose had said about him. Both Al and Rose tried to encourage the questions like, ("What's your favorite subject?") and ("Have you memorized your way around Hogwarts yet?") and steer them away from questions such as, ("So what does your dad do?") and ("Do you have any siblings?") Though she really wanted to know these things, she didn't think that fighting with Max to extract them would be a very good idea right now.

She and a few others were cleaning up after dinner and she was pleased to see Max and Teddy still at the table comparing abilities. And trying to impersonate each other to the crowd's amusement.

"I can't change my height very well." Said Max. "Well, I say very well, but really not at all."

"Nah, that one takes practice. I've always found the color purple to be a difficult pigment to do in the eyes," said Teddy. "You really keep them that color all the time?"

"I can't control my eyes." Said Max. "They change depending on my mood, their purple most of the time, I was born with electric blue so I was told."

Rose was happy to see him getting along with her family, they can be a little overbearing at times. But perhaps he was getting along with them too well. She finished dinner clean up to find the living area deserted. She had to search to finally find most of everyone in the lounge, all gathered around Max sitting on the ledge of the fireplace, telling a story, with everyone's rapt attention. Unlike Luna, he knew how to keep a crowd interested.

"So there I was, eight years old on the side of the road with only the clothes I was wearing and a pocket full of old puking pastels from your joke shop actually." He pointed at George who beamed. "Desperate, I did something, rather stupid, I hitchhiked."

"Have you heard this one before?" she asked Al who hushed her hurriedly to listen to Max explain what hitchhiking is.

"So yeah, I climbed into this really old, really dodgy truck with this even dodgier guy, all cover in tattoos and piercings. A couple bottles of whisky fell from the truck when I climbed in too."

"Why would you climbed into a stranger's vehicle?" asked Hermione in disbelief.

"No one ever told me not to." He grinned. That's how a lot of his stories started or ended. Al had even begun using that phrase.

"So we're driving along, I'm trying to start up a conversation or at least ignore the terrible smell, when he drives right by my driveway. I tell him to stop, I tell him that he had just passed my house, but be keeps driving and says something like, ' _We're taking a detour, har, har, har.'_ " Max said in a deep grunt. "Now, I'm terrified, I try the doors, but he had child locks on them, that's when you can only open the door from the outside. I try the window; you know how some older cars have that handle where you have to manually roll the window down? No? Okay well some do, but the rolly thing wasn't even attached to the door. That's when it hits me, I'm being kidnaped by a muggle."

"What did you do?" asked Lily in awe.

"I-" he laughed with his face in his hands. "I impersonate the devil." He said muffled.

James laughed, then stopped when he saw that nobody else was. "What? He's serious?"

"Well I pretended to be possessed by the devil."

Rose had heard this before. It was one of his bigger stories that always got the audience's attention. She enjoyed watching everyone's faces as Max explained how he had started screaming and changing his hair rapidly. How he had used the puking pastels to vomit on the windshield and how the muggle began screaming while waving a knife around before crashing into a tree and running away.

"So I lowered the seat and drove the car to the end of my driveway." Max finished. "My dad still has no idea."

"But that was very dangerous!" said Audrey holding her heart.

"Yeah," Max laughed. "I realize that now."

"Come on!" said Rose grabbing Max's hand and dragging him outside into the snow a little while later.

"Where are we going?"

"Ice skating!" she said excitedly.

A few members of the family were already sliding around on the ice, and the adults were wrapped in blankets with tea under the lit gazebo.

"Wait, wait, wait!" said Max pulling away as Rose stepped onto the ice.

"What?" she asked sliding backward.

"I can't skate in this, I'm in my dinner jacket."

Rose looked him up and down. "Do you really care that much?"

"I," he started, but stopped when thinking for a moment, then he blinked. "No," he smiled. " _I_ don't." he threw his fancy jacket to the ground and tossed his tie to the side which hit Fred in the face, causing him to fall over Roxy who was laughing.

"Hey, Max!" said Al sliding over. "Tell us the one where you were almost eaten by the hag."

"Not now, Al." said Rose pushing him across the ice.

They ended up building a snowman and dancing with it across the ice. Rose had fallen so many times she was sure that she wouldn't be able to sit in the morning. Poor Max had tried to help her, not because he coordinated on his feet, but because he was near her. He ended up being pushed down, pulled down, or fallen on top of as Rose made desperate attempts who cling to safety before falling.

"Oh!" said Hermione from the gazebo. "We're going to be late!"

"Late for what?" Ron yawned.

"Don't give me that." Hermione warned. "You know very well that we carol every year."

"Do we have to?" Ron complained. "We've been on our feet all day and we're all really tired. Right Harry?"

"Yeah," said Harry looking imploringly at her. "Can't we just go to sleep? Come on Hermione."

Ginny stood up as well and tapped Harry's leg. "Best get ready sweet heart, you know when Hermione has her mind set on something, there's little chance of getting out of it."

"You three act like you're surprised by this; you give me same reaction every year." Said Hermione crossing her arms.

"Yes, well one does hope you forget." Ron mumbled. "Calm down, I'm getting up."

True, they did carol every year, but Rose was starting to feel that they were getting a little old for it. Lily, Lucy and Louis were really the only ones who enjoyed it, well, them and Percy who slapped his earmuffs over his ears, grinning.

"Right! Are we ready now?" he would say.

Victoire and Dominique had dressed their brother, Louis up for the occasion; he scratched at his itchy collar irritable.

The grandparents, Bill and Flur, George and Angeline, Molly, Luna, and Hannah were all staying behind. Bill used the excuse, " _We haven't finished Christmas wrapping._ " Harry and Ron were disappointed that they had completed all theirs in time.

After being bundled up, Max having to borrow James' clothes, the girls led them outside into the dark, cold air with lanterns and they began to sing as they slowly walked the street through the softly falling snow.

Rose enjoy the event when she did actually get out there. This was the only time of year that she could sing without people telling her to save her song for the swamp. Percy's booming, cheerful voice drowned out any other singing though, Lily and Lucy were gigging as Percy's apparent glee.

Rose had to keep pulling Max along because he was too busy staring at the clear sky and all the stars twinkling above.

"Look how bright they are." He said in awe.

"Yeah, yeah, they're always brighter during winter, come on, keep singing."

Teddy changed a couple of the words in one of the songs, causing Fred and Roxanne to catch on and start changing nearly every word that rhymed into crude versions of themselves, much to the amusement of James and to the scowl of the girls making the two sibling stop in song. They decided to go inside when the young ones became freezing cold and their nose's became runny. Lily had Max hold her hands to warm them and Rose could tell that Teddy was jealous, he was usually the one Lily runs to. Rose thought that Lily was rather taken with Max.

They entered the house freezing cold and covered in snow. Grandma Weasley had hot water for their feet and tea to warm them when they sat. Molly had fallen asleep on Bill's lap who was watching George and Angelina chasing a gnome around the living room.

"James!" said Ginny.

"I thought I had gotten them all. Al, I think you missed one." James shrugged.

They opened the gifts that their guests had given them. The Longbottom's had given them a bored game that consisted of crystal gazing, guessing and acting. Also, a ten-pound fruit cake.

The Scamander's gave each girl a piece of jewelry which were brightly colored and very large, the boys got a type of jerky that Rolf assured them was from a highly magical beast they had found in Barcelona. The guys smiled and nodded, but Al was the only one who had openly tried it, to be polite.

Rolf was helping the boys with their shoes as Luna was putting on her coat to leave.

"Before you guys leave," said Neville standing up with his hand on Hannah's back. "We doubted that we'd be able to get you all in the same place, to we think it best to tell you now."

Everyone scooted closer to hear what they were about to say, Rose, assuming she already knew, nudged Molly awake.

"Hannah?" Beamed Neville.

"We're pregnant!" she squealed excitedly.

There was an eruption of noise as Rose and Max were almost tramped by George jumping over the couch to congratulate them. Rose smiled and clapped with the rest, this was a very big deal, they had been trying to have a baby ever since they had married. Harry and Ron were hitting Neville on the back and Hermione and Ginny were hugging Hannah.

Lorcan tapped Hannah's stomach and said, "Hello?"

Hannah laughed. "The baby can't hear you, I don't even think it has ears yet."

"What do you want it to be?"

"We're happy with whatever we get."

"Who are the godparents going to be?"

"Ernie and Tris Macmillan."

The guests stayed so much longer that second round of tea were handed out as everyone talked to Hannah and Neville. Rose loved having them there, Neville wasn't a Professor there and she could relax more around him, she didn't see Hannah very often. The Scamander's she saw almost never. They were almost always out of country exploring and making discoveries. Rose turned to tell Max something, but found that he was no long beside her. After scanning the room for a moment, she found Luna talking to him and he, having a look of pure perplexity on his face. Rolf walked up holding both Lorcan and Lysander on one of his arms, to tell his wife that they need to get the kids to bed.

"But-wait!" Max called after her. "What are Nargles?" he looked up worriedly at the many mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

With everyone gone, and the family tired, they started on their last tradition. After getting Roxanne to sit down and pay attention, and to stop doing puppet shadows on the walls, Hermione opened the book to read the Christmas story. Rose sat by the window with her knees to her chest, watching the snow cover the footprints they had made earlier that day, and watched the fairy lights twinkle along the yard. She wasn't listening to the story, she had heard it a thousand times and could quote it by heart. Max however, was cross-legged on the floor with rapt attention and a wide-eyed expression as though he had never heard it before.

The kids were sent to bed as soon as the story was over. The girls yawned and walked up, Bill carried Molly who had fallen back to sleep.

"Don't you dare!" called Hermione to Hugo who was trying to carry on the traditions of, _how much food can you sneak to the boy's room?_ She summoned the biscuits and rolls from Hugo's pockets. Rose noticed a large pile of sweets and mini pies float through the air behind Hermione and into a sack that Teddy was holding open before running up the stairs and out of sight.

"Max?" said Ginny walking kindly over. "I've just gotten a letter from your dad saying that you can stay with us if you'd like, but if want, I can send Hermes – he's our fastest owl – with a letter to your dad about sending you home if you'd like to spend the Holiday with him."

"Well," Max thought. "I don't want to be an inconvenience."

"Inconvenience?" said Ginny bending down to place her hands on his shoulders. "You're not an inconvenience, we love having you. The choice is yours sweetheart. Do you want to stay? Or ho home?"

"If I'm given the option…" said Max slowly. "Then I'd much rather stay here."

Ginny smiled and began to lead him up the stairs with her hand on his back. "I reckon James' got some pajamas that'll fit you."

Rose couldn't sleep, was it the anticipation for Christmas tomorrow? She didn't think so. Perhaps it was excitement that Max would be staying with them? Or it could just be Roxanne's snoring, though, it had never kept her up before. Rose wished she had Percy's last Christmas gift, _202 of the Most Respected International Confederation Wizards in History._ That would be sure to get her to sleep. She wished she had brought it rather than use it as a door stopper. Rose considered for a moment, hopping back to her house and grabbing it, but that would be too much work, she tried to avoid travel by floo when she could, it was unpleasant. She tried to remember if she had forgotten to do anything, that was usually the reason for not being able to sleep. Max's gift! She remembered, she was planning on sending it that night, but he had arrived and she didn't have to. Now that he was staying, she could put it under the tree. Was that why she couldn't sleep? She doubted it, but thought it be best to do it now, not being able to have the chance in the morning probably.

She climbed over many lumpy sleeping bags and tip-toed down the stairs with his gift in her hand. Rose peered into the lounge to be sure that the parents weren't still up filling stockings. The fire was dying and the tree was still brightly lit with a mountain of presents underneath. Stockings had been filled and were hanging above the fireplace, the window showed snow falling more heavily than before, and along the couch was something that didn't fit in the perfect picture. Maddox was sitting on the couch in James red and black plaid pajamas, holding a crinkled note.

"Merry Christmas." She whispered sitting on the other side of the couch.

He handed her the letter that he had been reading and she peered down it.

 _"_ _Max, I want you to stay wherever you are until you can grow a pair and realize that your happiness isn't all counts. I'm sending your gift with this letter, and another owl who seems to have something for you. Feel free to come back when you grow up. -C. Everard."_

Rose stared perplexed at the letter. "Where'd you find this?"

"In the trash."

"You were digging through the garbage?"

"I saw Mrs. Ginny throw it away; I don't think she wanted me to find it."

"But I don't understand." She said handing it back to him. "Your dad was a Hufflepuff wasn't he? That doesn't sound like something a Hufflepuff would say."

Max looked at her in disbelief. "Do you really believe that a person stays the same as they were when they were eleven, when they were sorted. Things change. Things happen in life that can completely unhinge people, make them unrecognizable."

"What'd he send you?" she asked.

Max tossed a small sack into the air and caught it again. "Money." He snorted. "Same as usual, keeps him from having to know me. Here."

He tossed it to Rose who tossed it back. "I don't want it."

"Neither do I, Merry Christmas." He said throwing it back.

"Consider this payment to my Honeydukes sweets." She said throwing it back for the last time.

"I wasn't really going to have you pay me back you know?"

"I know. So what are you gonna do from here? With Baily and your dad." She asked.

"Well," he sighed. "I'm gonna go home and talk to Clent. If he marries Baily, then I'm either going to complete my years at Hogwarts, renting an apartment over the summer until I'm of age and can move away, or I'm running away to live in Canada."

"You've worked that all out just today, huh? Well if you're planning on running away, you're going to want to keep that money."

"What's in the box?" Max asked, noticing the box in Rose's hand.

"Your Christmas present." She grinned, sliding to the floor to place it under the tree." ' _tap, tap, tap, tap.'_

"Really?" said Max beaming, also sliding to the floor and placing the letter into the dying embers of the fire. "What'd you get me?"

"A sock stuffed into a bottle rocket…" she said sarcastically.

"Okay, you won't tell me. Just give me a hint." ' _tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._ '

"It…" she thought. "It will help you in school and…hmm… and it would be useless to you if you don't have eyes."

"You got me a book?" he suggested, taking a bit of popcorn from the tree. ' _tap, tap, tap._ '

"I'm not giving you anymore hints."

They paused for a moment, Max watching the words, _'C. Everard.'_ shrivel in the fire.

"What's that tapping noise?" he asked.

"The boys probably." She looked at the ceiling.

"They were all asleep when I left." ' _tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._ ' "Which window does your post usually come through?" he asked.

"The kitchen." Rose replied, checking the gifts to see if the tapping noise was coming from one of them, and when lifting Percy's gift to her, was sure it was a book. "But they'll usually peck at the window to let you know they're here."

Max nodded for a moment, then blinked, finally realizing what the tapping was. He scrambled to the kitchen, and reentered the lounge cradling two shivering, snow covered owls. Rose hurriedly untied the packages from their legs and took the brown barn owl.

"Hey," said Max in surprise. "That's Micah's owl. Micah Merlia."

"How did he know you'd be here?" she asked.

"He didn't," Max smirked, checking the nametag. "It's for you."

"For me? But he doesn't even know me."

"Awe, this one is from Scorpius." Max smiled seeing the address.

"Should we open them?"

"No one ever told up not to." Max smiled.

"You really need to stop using that phrase." She said. "It's not a good line to teach younger kids."

"Rosie, we are younger kids, and look at all the fun things that have happened because of that phrase."

"You mean you almost dying multiple times?"

"I mean stuff like finding the gardens. Oh cool!" he had just pulled a really fancy quill and blue ink from the box that he had been opening, then Fizzing Whizbee's. Max popped one of the sweets into his mouth and levitated off of the ground a few inches, this being their effect.

"You know it's rumored that those candies contain dried Billywig stingers. That's what makes you float." Said Rose offhandedly, opening her package as well.

Max slowly removed the candy from his mouth and sank back to the floor. "Congratulations," he said sarcastically. "You just ruined my favorite candy."

"You and I both know that your favorite candy is chocolate frogs." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but do you know my least favorite?"

"Licorice wands." She replied not paying attention; she was too busy trying to untie the knot holding the box closed. "Or really anything licorice."

"Correct! Here," Max took the box she had been fighting with and used his teeth to brake the string.

"Wow," she said peering into the box. She took from it, the same mask she had worn to Hogsmeade, and under that, was a knitted hat. "But why would he send me something and not you? Surly he knows you better."

"Knows me better sure," Max shrugged. "but you're the only one who has ever shown an interest in his art."

"Why don't you guys ever complement it?" she asked slipping the mask over her face. "It's very good."

"Good, sure. But we're not going to say, _Oh, Micah, you're painting look exceptionally lovely, do tell me what technique you used on the sky!_ " Max folded his hands and batted his eyelashes.

"That's a little dram–" but Max covered her mouth to silence her and when listening, she knew why. Hurried footsteps were running down the stairs toward them. Max ushered her behind the armchair by the tree and crouched down before seeing the two pairs of feet enter the room.

"Haha!" she heard Teddy's voice say triumphantly. "First one up!"

"Of course you the first one up, it's three in the morning." Said Victoire irritably.

"James is always trying to be up first, but this year, I win!"

"What did you wake me up for then?" Vicky asked.

"Witness?"

"Augh," Rose saw the bottom of her pink nightdress swing around and leave the room.

"Merry Christmas!" Teddy whispered after her. "Owls?" they heard him say confusedly, completely forgetting that they had left both owls in the living room. They peeked around the corner to see the owl's fluffy little tails waddle from the room. Max and Rose saw Teddy climb onto the couch and use the throw as covers. Rose sighed, knowing that they weren't supposed to be up after stockings were stuffed. So they waited behind the armchair, eating the popcorn off the tree and playing wand, fire, post – like rock, paper, scissors – until Teddy's familiar snores filled the room. After climbing out from behind the chair, Rose and Max sprinted back up the stairs to bed to await Christmas tomorrow.


	16. Christmas at the Potter's

**R** ose had gotten three hours of sleep in all and was woken Christmas morning by Victoire and Dominique jumping in circles around her sleeping bag singing, " _It's Christmas, It's Christmas, Get up! Get up! Get up!"_

"Aren't you guys a little old for that?" she asked rubbing her eyes.

"Nope!" said Victoire. "We may be old in stature, but we're young at heart." She said standing tall.

"And we didn't want to poke you." Dominique added.

"Why?"

"We were afraid you would over react and try to shrink us." She tried not to laugh.

"Did Al tell you about that!"

"Max," she laughed. "just been to visit the boys. We have about ten minutes to get ready to go downstairs."

"You look pretty ready." Said Rose looking at their nightdresses and beautifully curled hair.

"Not us, you!" said Victoire lifting Rose by the arms.

"Ha," she fake laughed. "No thanks."

"That wasn't a question, now sit." Said Dominique forcing her onto Lily's bed who was sitting up excitedly with crazy bed head.

They spent the next fifteen minutes trying to do Rose up. Victoire used magic on her frizzy hair to bring it into soft ringlets while Dominique was putting some kind of powder on her face.

"I've waited forever to do this." Said the girls excitedly.

They forced her from the room, apparently forgetting to let her see her own reflection. The boys were all waiting by the stairs looking irritable and tired. Half of the girls were waiting with them.

"Is that what was taking so long?" asked James in disbelief. "You girls were getting fancied up?"

"Rose was!" said Dominique.

Rose was trying to silently indicate that she didn't have any say.

"Doesn't she look pretty?" said Victoire fussing about with Rose's hair.

Rose covered her reddening face.

"Yeah, she looks great," said Al hurriedly. "Now can we go downstairs?"

"Not before your picture." Said Hermione from the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, Rose, you look lovely."

Victoire and Dominique high fived, smiling. It took nearly five minutes to get everyone seated on the steps for their annual photo. Harry talked Max into joining and Hermione had to argue with Louis on letting her take the photo so that he could be a part of it.

After that, everyone was allowed to make their way into the living room where they found Teddy sitting upright on the couch looking very pleased with himself.

"I win." He grinned.

"I wasn't competing this year." Said James.

"You say that now because you lost."

"Alright boys," said Harry. "take a seat."

Everyone sat around in a circle on the floor. Ron was doing a magic trick for Lucy which involved pulling a bird from her hair, while Lily and Hugo passed out the presents. Everyone ate from their stockings while they waited. It was a mess of levitating, animal noises, fire breathing, smoke shooting, bubble blowing, hair raising fun while everyone traded sweets back and forth.

Hugo shouted and backed away as two owls flew from a pile of gifts. Teddy opened a window and the birds flew out.

"…Anyway…"

After all the presents had been passed out, Rose had a very large pile before her, and was a little uncomfortable to see a very small pile in front of Max. She recognized her own gift in front of him, one from Al, a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes package that she assumed George had scrounged up, and a small lumpy package. Max didn't look displeased, he actually seemed very cheerful and surprised at the number of gifts he was given.

They had at one time, taken turns opening presents in a circle from youngest to oldest, but the family had gotten so large that this was impossible to do and be done before dinner. They now opened the gifts from family all at the same time, and were allowed to open friends' gifts wherever or whenever they wanted. Max, having so few, opened them all very slowly.

"Max," she whispered. "You're supposed to rip the paper."

"I've just never been able to unwrap a gift before." He smiled.

She didn't. He unwrapped her gift to his and was stunned to find new telescope lenses.

"Rosie," he said. "These are really expensive."

"Actually it wasn't, I use coupons."

"This is brilliant, thank you!"

She unwrapped hers from him to find her favorite caramel truffles, the book _Hogwarts, a History_ , and a book of spells. She flipped through the spell book and stopped where she had caught a glimpse of yellow which ended up being the shrinking spell that Max had highlighted. Rose hit him in the arm and grabbed _Hogwarts, a History._

"You know I could have ordered this in the Library?" she smiled.

"I knew you wouldn't." he said. "Open it, I've made it a bit more interesting." He had colored every black and white drawing in the book with color pencil it seemed.

"You're right," she said, knowing by know, his habit of drawing in books. "It is more interesting."

She got a wide variety of sweets from the others, joke gifts, Percy's book, ' _How to Earn Respect in a Work Environment.'_ And as always, a Weasley jumper that all the family opened at the same time. Every year, the whole family got a jumper with their initials knitted into them. It had been Grandma Weasley who had knitted them for almost all the years, but because of the family's size, Hermione, Ginny, and Andromeda Tonks had taken up the tradition to help. This year, Rose had gotten a green one with an orange ' _R_ ' on the front.

She smiled and looked at Max who was now slowly opening the lumpy package. What came out of it, made both Rose and especially Max, freeze. He was holding something Indigo and soft and when unfolded was revealed to have a large, yellow, letter ' _M_ ' on the front. All the rest of the family had stopped to watch too, all looking rather pleased. Rose was slightly apprehensive knowing that he wasn't really a jumper guy, but had more of a thing for jackets. Max looked around.

"I know it's rather sloppy dear," said Grandma Weasley. "but I thought I'd whip it up anyway. Is the 'M' alright? I know Max isn't your real name but Al told me not to knit a 'V'."

Rose looked at Al who was beaming. Maddox stood up without a word and walked toward her, gripping the sweater in his fist.

"What's his name then?" Roxy whispered.

Max hugged Grandma Weasley and said something muffled that sounded like, " _I have never been so honored before, thank you._ " Grandma Weasley smiled, then patted him affectionately on the cheek before he sat back down.

"Try it on!" said Al from beside him.

Maddox pulled it over James nightshirt and grinned. Everyone else put theirs on too and started back at their gifts. Fred crawled over toward them and sat directly in between Al and Max.

"Look," he whispered with a glance at Grandma Weasley who was opening a gift from her husband. "here, Happy Christmas."

He handed Max a small sack that contained a variety of small sweets. "I have to give you this in secret because Grandma Weasley doesn't approve." Fred whispered. "Those little green ones," he pointed into the sack. "those there are singimigigs, the little yellow ones are the antidote, but they haven't been tested. We reckon we've finally got them right, but just, do us a favor and try them out on someone you don't like, yeah?"

Rose brought her gifts from the girls in her dormitory to her room and had to quickly change into something thick and warm. Ginny had made muffins for them all which they ate quickly before hurrying outside into the snow; Max had to use James other coat.

It took almost all afternoon to build their annual snow magus.

"Snow magus?" Max asked.

"Yeah, snow sorcerer. That's what magus means, sorcerer."

"Ah, that could be why people called me magus..."

They were encouraged to play outside with Ron, Harry, and Bill, to give the others room to prepare Christmas dinner. So they had a good time with the dad's playing war. Harry, Ron, and Bill all selected teammates and built snow fortresses with a lot of help from magic, to protect them from their opponents oncoming ammo. For the first time, Rose and Max were playing against each other. Maddox had been selected by Harry, and Rose, by Bill. This made the game a lot more exciting not to mention challenging. But when the cold became too much, people started abandoning their team to seek out warmth and maybe some hot chocolate. Leaving only Rose and Max who would both refuse to lose against each other, James who wouldn't lose to a first year, and Albus who lasted two minutes longer before running inside yelling about his toes falling off. A couple of fairies began to twinkle in the trees when James finally left, saying that the game had become boring, but Rose and Max knew that he could no longer take the cold, much like how they were feeling.

To their disappointment, the game became a tie owing to Hermione insisting that they come inside and get dressed before setting the table. Max had picked Rose up and dropped her inside the house as they came to the door, then did a victory dance as Rose argued that the game had already ended and that it didn't count.

"The game ends when one last player remains outside, and if I'm not mistaken, that player is me!"

"That's rubbish! We didn't even set rules for the game!"

They had two minutes to get dressed for dinner, Rose jumped into her emerald green dress and tied her hair into a bun and hurried downstairs. Christmas was always a formal event meaning that James had to lone Max some of his dress clothes and Molly insisted that he comb his wavy hair which he was displeased about; Rose knew that he liked it hanging in his face. To her amusement Max had insisted on wearing his Weasley jumper over his dinner vest.

Dinner was fantastic even without the delectable pudding and pies that were brought out to an already stuffed family who ate them anyway. Everyone worked together to clean up after word making the work pass much quicker and to make it more enjoyable.

They played the game that the Longbottom's had sent them again before all gathering around the piano to listen to Roxanne tap what she knew. After a quick chorus of _Crup for Christmas,_ Roxy was flipping through the book to find an easier one.

"Does anyone else know how to play piano? Or can at least sing well?" said Fred who had been giving Roxanne a hard time.

"Max does." Said Albus hitting him on the back. "He sings too."

"Really?" said Roxy excitedly.

"I don't think I sing well!" said Max going slightly red.

Roxanne and Fred forced him onto the bench and waited anticipant.

"Guys, he doesn't enjoy playing." Said Rose.

"That's alright." Max smiled, flipping through the music book. "I'll do it. What do you guys want to sing to?"

"Whatever you can play." Said Aunt Flur.

"Well I can follow sheet music so how about… _My Fwooper's Song_?"

"Dear, that's a really difficult one." Ginny reasoned.

"Awe, let him give it a shot." Smile Grandad Weasley shaking Max playfully by the shoulders.

"Alright, I'll start." He said running his fingers down the keys.

" _Oooooo,_

 _From the trees to the fire,_

 _To the snow and the choir,_

 _Christmases are grand,_

 _Though rarely go as planned._

 _Though poor in cooking,_

 _My caroling keeps them looking,_

 _For in singing I am super,_

 _But cannot compare,_

 _To the song of my Fwooper_."

It was the longest piano session of any Christmas. Apparently they were all really enjoying finally having someone who could play. After a while, the kids had started a game of exploding snap jr. – the type that didn't require wands – while the adults continued singing with Max. Louis hung by the music to take photos.

Hermione finally remembered their last Christmas tradition, and had to rush everyone outside to the gazeebo with blankets and tea. Everyone had to trudge through the deep snow, trying their best not to trip like Percy had, and all trying to hide their laughter. They were wrapped tightly and warming their hands by the fire that Harry had lit for them, all watching the fairies in the trees twinkle and sparkle. They were very beautiful from a distance, but the things were crazy ugly up close.

Max had watched for a little while but couldn't bare not to take advantage of the clear sky. He had borrowed Harry's old telescope and used it to try out his new lenses.

"Rosie! Rosie come look!" he kept beckoning excitedly.

For the third time, she escaped her cocoon of comfort, the blanket, and stepped out into the freezing air to peer at nothing through the telescope.

"So?" he said excitedly, bouncing up and down to warm himself.

"It's a rock…" she would say again, looking through the lenses.

"It's Amalthia!"

"Oh that's, uh," she tried to remember. "one of Jupiter's moons right?"

"Yes!" he said with glee. "Hold on, let me find Callisto!" he bent back down to peer through the lenses. Rose found his enthusiasm to be adorable at times, exhausting at others. Tonight, it was exhausting.

"I wish Scor were here." Said Al as he, Max, and Rose made their way back to the house. "He would have really enjoyed all this, especially to food."

"You did give him this address?" Rose asked.

"Of course I did."

"Al, do you think that the Parkinsons visited the Malfoys for Christmas?" a horrible thought struck her.

"Esh, I hope not."

"Cause her parents have no problem with them, just Poppy."

"I really hope that Scor didn't have to see her. What a jolly gift that would be. And it's not the Parkinsons, just Poppy Parkinson, her mom is now Pansy Welp."

"So her mom got remarried?"

"She was never married in the first place."

"Oh, then who was her dad?"

Al shrugged.

Rose had tried to stay awake as long as she possible could. She didn't want this Christmas to end. It had been one of the most enjoyable in memory. She hoped that Max enjoyed his time here too and with a look at his indigo hair, Weasley jumper and wide grin as he played on the piano, she reckoned he did. The family thinned as they slowly went off to bed. Al, Max, and herself took to reading on the sofa in front of the Christmas tree, knowing that it was all going to be taken down in the morning.

"You awake?" she opened her eyes when she heard Max say.

"Yeah I'm good." She lied.

"You sure? Because that was the fourth time I asked."

"She was dozing." Said Al.

"Well can you blame me?" she stretched.

"Read us whatever you're reading, Max." yawned Albus. "It looks boring."

The book bore only a picture of a very old pincushion.

"It's not." Said Max not looking up. "This is the second time I've read it, it's really quite sad. I found it on Mrs. Potter's bookstand."

"Just read it. Wherever you're at…"

Max sighed. "- _For what is it to have no purpose in life, to be trapped within one's own subconscious for thirty-six years? To watch the beloved parents, search for me, to cry for me, to beg, to plead, to grow mad about my absence when I am but two feet from them, what can one do? To watch your darling sister, grow up without your influence, without a sister. To forget the color of your eyes, of your hair, to forget your voice and to forget you? I have cried out without sound escape, I have forgotten the sound of my own voice. I have watched Darla grow into a beautiful young woman, to be hurt by dirty Wizards, to cry about her longing. I will one day hold you again, Darla, not as a baby, but as a woman. I will find a way out of this helplessness, I will walk again, I will talk again, I will be by your side once more and you shall remember me, and I shall never abandon you, belittle you, for I have watched you do this to yourself for far too long. I will be free, and I will once again be with you, this is my promise. I sat there again having long lost the count of days, of years even. Before my shelf, stood… someone… who… blah, blah… blah… blah-"_

That's all she could remember before falling asleep.

She woke the next morning to Hugo prodding her. She was asleep on Maddox's shoulder and Albus who was sitting on Max's other side, had somehow stretched himself all the way across to lay on Rose's lap.

"We're leaving soon." Said Hugo. "You need to get your stuff."

She looked up to see Max reading ' _Help, I'm a Pincushion! An autobiography by Miranda Pearl.'_ Again.

"What's everyone else doing?" she asked seeing most of the adults in the kitchen talking.

"They're trying to figure out what to do with me." Max replied

"What?" she said. "Aren't you staying with me?"

"That's what they're trying to figure out." He replied not looking up.

"Whether I should stay with you guys, stay here, or go back to my dad's."

"What!" she exclaimed standing up, knocking Albus off the couch. "Oh-hu… No." and she stormed into the kitchen soon to be joined by Max and Al.

After much discussion, and the arrival of a reply letter from his dad that they had sent the night before, they decided not to send him back to Clent's, and to not let him see the letter. With much argument between Al and Rose, they decided that Max could stay with Ron and Hermione, and finally with a little more persuasion, to Al's delight, he would be staying with them until New Year's Eve.

It didn't take long now for everything to be packed back up, she hadn't brought much anyway. After saying goodbye to the members of the family who weren't going to show for New Year's, they took a handful of floo powder and Ron, Hermione, Al, and Max all were swept away through a burst of green flame.

"Louis!" she called. "Have you developed the pictures from yesterday?"

"Some, why?"

"Can I have the one of all of us around the piano?"

"I don't know…" said Louis thinking. "I only have one of those and it's my favorite. See?" he took a small stack of thin photographs from the mantel piece and flipped though the moving people in them to find the one he was looking for. Louis showed her the photo of Max playing the piano and the whole family was singing joyfully around him, all laughing and smiling.

"What do you want with this one? Why can't I have it?" she asked.

"Well we're all here, happy and together, and look," he pointed at Uncle Bill beside the piano. "Dad's fly is unzipped." He laughed. "and he has no idea."

"Well then, can I just have another copy? You took so many." She pleaded.

"This is all I've got," Louis shrugged. "The sisters got to it, scratched up all the film, by accident I think."

"I'll buy it from you! Come on!"

A spark glinted in his eye suddenly and she wished she hadn't sounded so desperate. "You'll buy it huh? Well, starting price is one Galleon."

"It's what?" she exclaimed. "That's ridiculous! I'll give you two sickles."

"I did say starting price." Said Louis becoming distracted by his nails with a pompous look on his face.

"What do you know about persuasion? You're only ten!"

"You try to act so much older than me." He said. "You're only a year."

"You're so stubborn."

"I call it ambition. And I'd hurry, the others probably think you've come out of the wrong grate."

"Augh, Slytherin." She hissed, dropping one Galleon into his outstretched palm and jerking the photo away.

Louis flicked the coin into the air with a smile on his face as she scooted back into the fireplace. " _Home!_ " she yelled throwing the floo powder at her feet. Green flame circled around her as she saw Louis pull a roll of perfectly good film from his pocket. "You little-!" she yelled before she was sucked out of sight.


	17. Another Unexpected Visitor

**M** ax was a very interesting house guest. Rose had tried, at first, to show him around the neighborhood. She found out quickly, that this was a bad idea. Max had interrupted the stroll by insisting they take to exploring the woods behind old Hepworth's house. Albus was more than happy to jump in and Rose, not wanting to be alone, followed apprehensively.

"We're not supposed to be back here." Rose whispered crouching behind a bush so Hepworth wouldn't see them cross his yard.

"Why not? Were you ever told not to?" Max grinned.

"There's this thing called common sense, Max. 98% of people are born with it."

Max turned around and shook her hand. "Congratulations, you just met a 2%."

He did end up getting them lost. Attacked by fire ants, and washed downstream. It was during the silence while the three of them were having to cross back up the neighborhood, soaking wet and freezing cold because of the snow, that Max said, "This'll make a story though…"

Al laughed in disbelief and Rose scowled.

"What on earth happened to you?" Hermione exclaimed watching them enter the house covered in mud.

Max replied with, "…Which part?"

While Hermione and Ron were at work one day, Hermione at the Ministry, Ron helping run his brothers joke shop, Max had bet Al that he could get further to the ground without a broom. So they took turns jumping out of Hugo's window with brooms to see how close they can get to the ground before pulling up; Al won.

Another time, they had taken Ron's wand after her parents went to bed, and snuck it into Rose's room, but to be fair, that was Al's idea.

"Can't the Ministry of Magic tell if we do underage magic?" Max whispered.

"They can tell where it's done, and whose wand it's done by," Said Al. "Not _who_ it's done by, I need help with Transfiguration."

"I'm gonna get in so much trouble if we're caught." Rose panicked.

"Then don't get caught." Max advised settling himself on top of Rose's pile of stuffed animals. "Al, if you need help in Transfiguration, then you'll need Scor, I'm the worst."

"Max," Rose scorned. "There is a chair right next to you, literally, two feet away."

"But that chair's not made of plush." Max shrugged.

"Rose? Will you help me?" Al asked.

"No, Al!" Max sat up quickly. "If you ask her she'll start trying to teach you Transfiguration-"

"Theory, that's the first thing you have to understand before even grabbing a wand, Max here, if the perfect example of that." She gestured toward him as he fell back on top of the plush toys which squeaked a bit. "Max has never stopped to understand it, and emerges every class wounded or with extra homework, sometimes each. I have a really good book around somewhere."

"Whoa! Look at that! I'm brilliant at Transfiguration! Thanks Rose!" said Al dropping the wand on her bed and covering his ears.

"Shh."

They stopped to hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

"It's dad!" Rose whispered.

"You can tell that just by his footsteps?" Max asked.

Rose blew out the candle that was giving light to the room, opened the door, threw the wand over the balcony and shut it silently.

 _Knock, knock, knock_

"Come in."

Ron entered the room with half flat hair and striped pajamas and looked around.

"Have you guys seen my wand?" he asked tiredly.

"No."

"No."

"Yes."

Rose looked at Max worriedly, forgetting that he doesn't lie.

"You have?"

"Yes. It's brown and long and has little dots near the bottom."

Ron sighed. "Have you seen it today?"

"Yup. You carried it outside to weed the garden remember?" Max smiled.

"Do you know where it is?"

"Not the exact location."

"Did you guys take it…?"

Rose's eyes widened.

"No, us guys did not take it."

"…Alright, I'll have Hermione summon it. You two best be getting to bed soon." He nodded to Al and Max, and he shut the door behind him.

"You- you lied!" Rose gasped.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did! You said that we didn't take it! When we did!"

"I said us _guys_ didn't take it, because it was actually you who did… girl."

Rose couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. She had become so excited to finally hear him tell a lie, that she couldn't help but think now, that it wasn't a mental choice. Now adding another question to her and Al's growing list.

Rose and Al had taken Max flying outside a couple days before the new year. Neither of them had ever seen him fly outside of lessons, but since they had joined their teams, they were no longer involved in flying lessons. Ron had taken to the air to join the play late in the afternoon after he had come back from work. Because it was so dark, they used Rose's glowing orb that they had bought specifically for this reason, and simply played a game of catch with Max in the air. He was very mediocre, catching the orb most of the time, but very sloppily or almost falling off his broom.

Every night when they came inside, Hermione would have a full meal waiting for them on the table which they all ate gratefully. Max would sleep in Hugo's room and Al would choose between the couch downstairs or in Rose's room, typically on the pile of stuffed animals.

"I can't do this anymore!" said Hugo barging into Rose's room early one morning.

"Hugo?" Rose sat up rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Your friend!" he exclaimed widening his puffy eyes.

"I thought you liked Max."

"I like him when I'm not tired! But he hums all night long - doesn't get to sleep until around two in the morning - then he scribbles with his new quill singing ' _Oh Forever to the Ministry_ ' until I wake up early where he's like _Oh Hugo, You're up early. How'd you sleep?_ "

Rose tried to act sorry for her brother, but couldn't help suppressing a smile. She knew very well that Max was never up early or late until he came to Hogwarts where it was her that kept him up until two in the morning doing homework, her that wakes him up early for breakfast, and her that taught him the song Oh Forever to the Ministry.

"Just two more nights, Hugo." She said. "You only have to put up with him for two more nights."

"Why can't he sleep in here with you?"

"Because that'll be inappropriate."

"Why?"

"Because he's a boy."

"Al's a boy!" Hugo argued.

"That's different. Look, if you want, you can sleep on the couch, or ask him to sleep there."

Hugo rolled his eyes and left the room. She laid back down to go back to sleep, but was woken up thirty-seconds later by Max jumping onto her bed.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore." He said holding his face. "I like your brother and all, but Rosie, he snores like there's a Augurey in his throat. Keeps me up all hours of the night and wakes me early in the morning. I would move to the couch but I don't want to hurt his feelings."

"May I suggest something?" she yawned.

"Please!"

"Move to the couch, I promise you, Hugo won't take it too hard."

Ten seconds later.

"Rosie!" said Al.

"Ugh, what?" she cried through her pillow.

"I can't do this anymore! I would sleep on the couch but Max is moving his stuff down there. Every time I roll over on your toys, something from under me begins to move and say, _Mama, I'm hungry!_ It scares the hairs off me. We need to switch beds."

"No."

"You gave Hugo and Max a solution!"

"It's Pasty. My baby doll Pasty, she had a little orange hat and overalls. Just find her and put her somewhere else."

Rose rolled over finally and closed her eyes.

"Rosie?"

"WHAT!" she yelled from under her blankets. "What? What? What? What?"

"Excuse me?"

She poked her head out of the covers to see her mom's stern face though the doorway.

"Sorry."

"I need you to help de-gnome the garden. Your father and I are off to work and we just spotted them getting into our pomegranate tree. I've sent Hugo out already; why don't you take the boys with you?"

"Hugo?" Rose couldn't find him when she got outside with an unenthusiastic Al and a positively excited Max.

"I've never de-gnomed before." He whispered to Al.

"Yeah? Well don't get too excited, it's nothing to write home about."

"Hugo!" she found him hiding in the pomegranate tree with red fruit juice all around his mouth, all bundled up in winter clothes and hat.

"Awa, I was hoping you would find me." He said climbing down grudgingly.

"There's one." Said Max pointing at a tiny potato like creature scurry across the ground holding a pomegranate.

"Don't just point!" said Al. "Grab 'em! NO! Not by the head, oh… well I guess the heads fine."

Max had picked the gnome up by the top of its horizontal potato head and though its tiny brown body and arms were swinging and scratching madly at him, they couldn't reach.

"Huh, I've never thought of that." Al laughed leaning in.

"Let me do this one!" said Hugo grabbing the gnome by the leg and swinging it in wide circles above his head, then letting go and watching it fly across the street.

"And that doesn't break their ankles off or anything?" Max asked looking slightly disturbed.

"Nope!" Hugo smiled dusting off his hands. "Well, I don't think so, I've never asked one afterward. You want to get them nice and dizzy so they don't know their way back to your yard; stupid little things, gnomes. Go ahead and grab that one." He said gesturing to a fat gnome chewing on Max's shoelaces.

Max picked it up by the feet this time and started spinning it in circles above his head.

"Very good, now be sure to aim it at _that_ house across the street. They have nicer fruits anyway and their jerks. Bronta stole my cauldron cakes in third grade. She denied she ever did it but I saw the icing all around her mouth, and I told her, I said-"

"Great story dude." Max interrupted. "But may I throw it now? Only, my arms really starting to hurt."

"Yup, let 'em have it! Uh, but try'n get it either in front of, or pass their garden. Gnomes are farsighted so if you get directly in their garden, the thing won't know where it is and it'll try to get back."

Max threw it directly where Hugo had told him to, it flew across the street, pass Bronta's driveway, pass their garden, and smashed through their window.

"Shoot!" said Max throwing his hands into the air.

There were loud shrieks coming from the smashed window.

"Well, you got it pass the garden." Hugo grinned.

Rose grabbed her brother by the arm and ran from their yard and into the side door. The other two followed and peered through the living room window at a very fat man staggering from the house holding the gnome by

the ankle as it shrieked and squirmed.

"WHO THREW THIS!" he bellowed shaking the tiny creature at the neighborhood. "IF I EVER FIND OUT WHICH ONE OF YOU THREW THIS, I'LL DETROY YOU! I'LL GRAB ALL OUR GNOMES AND DROP 'EM DOWN YOUR CHIMNEY! THEN I'LL CUNFOND YOU SO YOU WON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE YOU ARE OR WHY THERE ARE GNOMES RUNNING ALL OVER YOUR HOUSE! THEN I'LL HIRE AN ILLUSTRATOR TO PAINT A PICTURE OF THE SCENE! DO YOU HEAR ME! I'LL FIND YOU!"

They watched through the window as the man attempted to throw it in anger, but it latched onto his finger causing him to curse and drop it on the ground. "I SUSPECT YOU WEASLEY!" he said before turning into the house and slamming the door.

The four of them crouched down and all failed to suppress grins. Rose knew that to was an empty threat, he was too large to touch his knees let alone catch gnomes.

All of the sudden there was this gust of green fire from behind them and someone toppled from their fireplace over Al who was directly in front of it as Rose screamed in surprise.

Scorpius Malfoy staggered back up again, dusting off soot from his otherwise perfect robes.

"Scor!" Al exclaimed seeing him.

"Scorpius!" said Rose delightedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Al invited me for New Years!" he replied beaming. "I couldn't make it for Christmas but the family is getting together for New Year's Eve and they don't normally want kids there; it doesn't usually go very well."

"You didn't invite me for the New Year!" said Max indignity.

"It doesn't matter now." Said Rose. "You're here."

"Ah, Max! You're here too! I didn't know how I missed you, you know with the-" Scorpius made a gesture atop his head indicating Max's crazy hair. "I've never traveled by floo before, interesting stuff." He was saying taking off his outside robe and sitting on the couch. "I usually do side along apparition."

"But that's very dangerous." Said Rose.

"I've never been splinched." He shrugged. "Dad has though, lost a whole ear, scary as heck."

"How did you know to come here?" Al asked, smiling.

"Didn't, I stopped by your place. I'll tell you, your family was awfully surprised when I stepped through their fireplace."

"You met my parents?" asked Al. "How did they act?"

"Your dad was a bit iffy, awfully stiff, can't blame him, for what I've heard he and my dad didn't get along in school, doesn't help that I look just like him. But James greeted me and gave me his half eaten sandwich, do any of you guys like corned beef?" he held out a sandwich that had three bites and was now covered in ash. "Yeah, the pickles flew out of it on the way over here, I think he was just trying to get rid of it. Anyway, your mom shook my hand and sent me your way, so here I am!" he held out his hands still holding the sandwich.

"Are you staying with us?" Hugo asked.

"Dunno. I was going to ask to stay with Al, he does have more room, but now he's here isn't he?"

"Do you hum often?" Hugo asked hopefully.

"Not typically no, can't carry a tune to save my life."

Hugo hugged Scorpius around the middle saying. "You can stay with me!"

"Is that all?" asked Max in surprise. "If you didn't like it, you could have just asked me to stop."

"So I can stay here?" he asked.

"I don't see why not. My mum loves house guests, but I'll send her an owl just in case… did you bring a bag?"

"Oh, yeah!" he said excitedly. "Can I have something small that you don't care about losing?" he asked looking around. "Something that'll hold together? Something, yeah, this'll work!" Scor walked to the fireplace, dropped the corned beef sandwich on the dusty floor, took a pinch of floo powder from the bowl above the mantle, threw it on the sandwich and yelled, " _My house_!" Green flames erupted around the bread and it vanished. He sat cross-legged in front of the fire and waited.

Everyone else waited too, thinking that he might just be a bit mad. A minute passed and another gust of green flames appeared, and when dying, a duffle bag was sitting there. Scorpius picked it up and turned as if this was as normal as anything.

"So…" said Al. "You send a sandwich somewhere, and that makes a duffle bag appear, cause that makes perfect sense?"

"Oh," said Scorpius looking confused. "Have you guys never done that? Yeah, I told my mom that I was heading to your place, if I was allowed to stay, I would send her something as a sign, and she would send my bag. If I couldn't, I would head back, and travel to the Potter's on New Year's Eve."

"I've never thought about doing that." Said Hugo.

"Yeah," agreed Rose. "We just bundle what we want to bring with us under our soot robes."

"There's a note," said Scorpius picking a piece of paper from the inside of his bag. " _Dear Scorpius,_ " he read aloud. " _Hope you have fun, Happy New Year, I'll be here peeling corned beef from the walls of our fireplace._ _-Mom_ "

" _Something that'll hold together._ " Al mocked. " _I know! I'll send a sandwich!_ "

"Hey guys!" Rose whispered. "Our neighbor just disapparated, we can get back to de-gnoming."

"If he just disapparated," said Hugo. "then why are you whispering? _Thank god you inherited your mother's brains._ " Hugo also mocked.

"Shut up. Come on Scor, you can help."

"I hate de-gnoming." He complained.

"I thought you said you had house elves." Said Al.

"Elves don't de-gnome." Said Scorpius obviously. "They're hardly bigger than the things themselves."

For the rest of the day, gnomes were flying and squealing through the air and across the street. Max lessened the distance of his throw and was successful in, now, getting them into Bronta Barnes yard.

"Didn't you say you had muggle neighbors?" asked Max as he ripped a gnome off his ankle.

"Uh-hu." Rose replied flinging one accidentally into a tree.

"Then, if they look through their window, can't they see tiny, potato like creatures being flung into the air?"

"Nope, muggles can't see theses gnomes unless a special charm is cast on them. Nobody had cast that charm of course because their inability to see them is really convenient."

"So if they can't see what we're throwing, then what do we look like?"

"Like we're going mad." She laughed.

Hermione appeared by the front door later that day. The four kids scrambled down from the pomegranate tree to meet her.

"Rose?" she called stepping into the house wearing her work robes.

"Right here!"

"Oh, good. Where's your friend?"

"Max is outside."

"No, your other friend, where's Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Oh, he's stuck in the tree." Rose replied casually gesturing to the window where there was a perfect view of Scorpius' leg caught between two branches, Al jumping up and down from under the tree trying to nudge it out, Max on the ground laughing, and Hugo taking pictures.

Hermione opened the window and shouted, " _Mobiliarbus!_ " The two branches separated slightly and Scorpius fell to the ground.

Hermione came running out to him. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm good, I'm fine thanks. Scorpius Malfoy." He smiled, stretching out his hand to shake hers from the ground, but she used it to help him to his feet instead, dusting snow off his robes with a fuss. "No need," he assured her. "I'm fine, Al here broke my fall."

"Yeah," said Al from the ground, unhurt but being dramatic. "Oh the pain!" he swooned.

"So you're staying with us for the weekend?" she asked.

"If you'll have me. Rosie here sent an owl but we never got a reply."

"Oh? I sent a reply saying that I sent a note asking Ron, I guess his reply hasn't gotten here yet."

There was a loud, ' _CRACK_ ' and Ron appeared in his brightly colored work robes and covered in glitter – being covered in stuff like glitter or slime was normal when coming home from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. He appeared before the front door which he walked through without noticing that everyone was outside.

"Take your shoes off before you enter the house, won't you?" Hermione smiled to them as they trooped in.

"Ron?" she called, entering the house.

"Yes?"

"Did you get my post? About Scorpius Malfoy?" she called making her way to the kitchen where Ron always went first after work.

"Yes, I did. I sent you a reply but I suppose you had already left, or perhaps Kiffly ate it."

"Kiffly didn't eat it, don't be ridiculous."

"Don't be so sure, that man will eat anything. I once saw him chewing on a book when I worked at the Ministry, _a book!_ I wouldn't put it past him to start eating our post. Is the Malfoy kid here?"

"Yes, he's right behind me."

Ron came from around the corner looking tired. He took a deep breath when seeing Scorpius who ruffled his own hair real fast.

"Ron." He grunted taking Scorpius' hand.

"Scorpius, sir." He said.

They continued to look at each other for a moment, both Hermione and Rose looked nervous. Hugo wasn't watching and Al was smiling cheerfully, evidently thinking that they'd get along just fine. Scorpius smiled and shifted his eyes a bit, waiting for Ron to say something or give him the okay to walk away and never have to stare into his eyes again .

"Question…" said Ron suddenly.

"Yes?" said Scorpius relived that the silence had been broken.

"This will determine whether you can stay with us or not."

"Ron." Hermione scorned.

"Holac or Housten?"

"Oh Holac, of course!" said Scor as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. Rose had no idea what the question was. "Housten is majorly sloppy in his retrievals and is only still with the Chudley Cannons because he keeps the girls watching, everyone thinks he's _so_ handsome, when it's really Halac that deserves his own article!"

Rose understood now.

Ron paused for a moment, then slapped Scor on the back. "He can stay." He said casually before making himself a couple eggs. "Ugh," he said a moment later. "Why do I smell corned beef?"

"Oh, it's from James' sandwich." Scor replied.

"James'- where is it now?"

"Plastered to my chimney…"

Dinner that night was mostly silent. Though Ron had gotten on with Scorpius alright because of the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team, Rose couldn't help but feel that he still saw Draco Malfoy when he looked at him.

"So?" asked Ron while eating roast beef. "What does your dad do now?"

Scor looked at Al nervously for a moment, not thinking that discussion on his father would be a very good idea. Rose gave him a curt nod.

"He, uh, he's a bank owner now."

"He doesn't own Gringotts!" said Ron in suddenly.

"No, see, he's working on opening a series of other Wizarding banks across the globe, we're getting along fairly well in the planning."

"Why would we need another bank?" Ron asked. "Gringotts is the safest place in the world."

"Well with the Wizard population growing across the world, this'll make it easier to those in other continents to access their money. Like the people in China and the Americas have difficulty getting to our bank, so right now, we're working on opening one in each continent."

"Is it bringing in money?"

"We're getting along. We'll be doing really well once they're built."

"Do you think it's ever gonna get there?"

Rose, Max and Al were sharing sideways glances at each other. The conversation was becoming awkward. Rose was trying to give her dad silent signals to indicate that should stop, but he didn't so much as glance at her.

"Yes." Scorpius replied rather stiffly.

"But the Malfoy family is already very wealthy, why is he going through all this trouble?"

"Because he wants to help people." Said Scorpius with a hint of pride in his voice.

Ron dropped the topic after that. Whether it was because of the warning look on Hermione's face, his doubtfulness of that answer, or just to hold his tongue, she didn't know, but she was glad that he had.

"I'm sorry about all that." She whispered late at night as everyone sat on her bed with a candle.

"That's alright." Scor shrugged. "I told you before, I'm used to it."

"I didn't know your dad was opening banks." She said. "That's really cool."

"Yeah. I'm happy he's doing something he enjoys; he's always liked creating."

"Excuse me for saying this but, I thought, of all people, you wouldn't have gotten along with him. You two are just so different."

"Not really. You've never met my dad; I am told that I have more of my mom's traits though. But we get along. We have a few issues but who doesn't with their dad. I sometimes feel cheated of a better life, a life where I'm not starred at or mocked when I walk down the street. But I can't hold what he did in his youth against him. It'll only make me bitter."

"I hate when people stare." Said Al. "You can imagine how much we get it. That scar on my dad's forehead does attract a lot of attention and James, Lily and I get it too. The prodigies. I hate it. Not being my dad's son, no, I love my dad. But I wish it could've been someone else who defeated Voldemort sometimes."

"We're watched a lot too." Rose joined in. "Hugo and I. Not as much as Al of course, but still we're asked for pictures a lot, especially when we're with the Potters. My parents are asked to sign their chocolate frog cards even."

"I get looks too." Said Max seriously. "My hair, makes people think I'm a rebellious kid. OH CRUEL WORLD! WHY HAS THOU CURSED ME WITH SUCH VIBRANT LOCKS!" he threw his hands toward the ceiling making the others laugh.

"Why don't you change your hair to be neutral when you're out then?" she laughed.

"Because indigo brings out my eyes." He joked, but then because she remembered that he can't lie and he was being honest, she laughed harder.

The boys weren't tired at all so Rose kicked them to the floor so she could sleep and found them the next morning asleep on the ground, Al holding Pasty her pumpkin doll, Scor was wearing her knitted hat, and Max was cuddling with his telescope. She had to step over them all, careful not to wake them, so she could use the family camera to take a picture. She was going to have Louis develop the ones they had taken over the week. Some of which including the one of them covered in mud from Max's adventure, one of Al sleeping on her plush toys, the one that Hermione had taken of them all playing catch in the air, the one Hugo got of Scorpius stuck in the tree, and this one. Louis owed her anyway for the Galleon she had been cheated.

"So what's the plan today?" Scor asked.

"We're heading out at nine to help Harry and Ginny set up for the New Year party, which will start at ten." Hermione answered. "Until then, spend the day like any other, and don't get dressed in your evening robes until at least eight."

Ron went to work and Hermione – being off – left to go grocery shopping. Rose refused to take them around the neighborhood again knowing that Max wouldn't stroll to enjoy the scenery, but would be looking for every opportunity to create another story. They had sat in the pomegranate tree again – Scorpius now being more cautious as to where he sat – and Hugo was visiting his friend a couple houses down.

"This kinda reminds me of the garden." Said Scor looking at the greenery around him.

"Yeah," said Rose. "except, not at all."

Hermione had come in laden with groceries a couple hours later to find them all reading on the couch.

"Is this all you've been doing all day?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yup."

"Mom, there's nothing to do!"

"Sure, because you have your three best friends with you and can't find anything to do. You know I approve of reading, but those are fiction novels anyway. Why don't you play in the snow before it all melts?"

"Mum," Rose complained. "There's like two feet of snow, it's not gonna melt, and we've already been out today."

" _Going to,_ " her mom corrected "It's not _going to_ melt. And if your so bored, then why not clean the attic, it hasn't been touched in a couple years."

Rose stood up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" asked Max.

"To clean the attic." She replied.

"Why?"

"Because she told us to."

"No, she said – _why don't you?_ – the answer is, because we don't want to."

"When mom suggests something, it's usually not a suggestion."

"That's right." Al huffed when getting up.

They spent the rest of the day picking up old and broken items, cleaning out doxy eggs and dusting cobwebs. The boys got distracted with the old box of dress up clothes that every attic had.

"Look at this!" laughed Max slipping on a really old, very shabby, brown dress robe with half ripped frill around the collar and hem. "Do you want to go to a ball with me?" he said bowing to Rose who was the only one working.

She raised her eyebrows at him, and he turned to Scorpius instead. "Do you want to go to a ball with me?"

"Do I ever!" Scor grinned taking his hand and skipping about the attic laughing.

There were a couple thumps from under them from Hermione telling them to keep it down. Max checked himself in a cracked mirror.

"You know; I could probably bring this back in style."

"Why would you want to?" Al asked going through a box of corks.

"Why would anyone keep a cracked mirror?" Scorpius asked.

"It's bad luck to crack a mirror, it's ten more years if you throw the mirror away after." Rose replied breaking down a box.

"Are you superstitious?" Scor asked.

"No." Al replied. "But she is stuck."

Rose just realized that she had barricaded herself inside a wall of boxes.

"Time to get ready, guys!" Hermione called from the kitchen. "Oh! Just first wash your face and hands, you're covered in dirt."

Rose had just cleaned up and gotten into her gold New Year dress before the guys had even finished washing their face. A loud ' _CRACK_ ' announced the arrival of her dad and she went out to greet him, but decided otherwise when seeing that he was coated in syrup.

"Hi, Rosie." He said. "Not gonna hug me?"

"Not today, dad."

"Oh come on, just one hug? I haven't seen you all day!" he said nearing her quickly.

"No!" she laughed running away. "Don't touch me, No!"

"Ron." Hermione smiled.

"Hermione! Wanna hug?"

"Don't you dare." She smiled. "Rose had just got into her things; we don't want her getting dirty."

"Where's Al? I bet he'll want to see me."

"He's getting cleaned up in the first bathroom." She replied moving aside.

Ron crouch toward the bathroom and flung the door open. Rose heard screaming from the other side and her dad say, " _I just wanna feel loved!_ " Al emerged from the bathroom holding his arms out beside him and covered in sticky sap. Max and Scor were laughing when Ron double took at Max.

"Where the heck did you get that!" He exclaimed seeing as Max was still wearing the shabby old dress robes.

"Found it, in the attic."

"Hermione! I thought I said to get rid of it!" he called.

"No," said Hermione entering the room smirking. "I believe your exact words were ' _pull in from thread to thread, put it through a wood chipper, soak the piece's in gasoline and burn them the muggle way_.' Sorry dear, but I couldn't part with them."

"Wait, you've actually worn this, like, in public before?" Max laughed.

"I wore it to a ball."

"A ball! I thought perhaps it was worn a couple centuries ago! Not a couple decades! Oh, I bet you were the bell of the ball." He said sarcastically.

"I was actually; the girls couldn't keep their hands off me." Ron replied.

"Oh?" Hermione laughed. "The only hands on you that night were my fists, or did I miss something?"

"I will give you five sickles, if you wear that all evening." Ron bet Max.

"Five sickles?" Max grinned. "Deal!"

"Cool, you'll have to change your hair to be red also." He said shaking his hand. "I'm hungry."

Al had to take a shower now while the others dressed into their party clothes.

"Oh, we're running low on floo powder." Said Hermione peering into the bowl as the kids lined up to leave.

"Why don't we just do double travel, you know, two at a time?" Scorpius suggested.

"That's very dangerous." Said Rose. "You're spinning so quickly that you can fracture your scull of the other persons head you're spinning to fast. Or you can be pushed from the wrong grate, or hit a limb on the wall around you snapping it off, or you could-"

"Okay, sweetheart." Hermione stopped her. "We'll be fine for now. There's enough for you guys, Ron and I are apparating. We're bringing a dish anyways and don't want to fling egg all over their house when we land. Here, go ahead and take a handful." She held out the powder.

Rose went first, experiencing the usual unpleasant sucking feeling and loud roaring in her ear before appearing in the Potter's fireplace.

"Hi again." She said to the few people in the living room. "Louis! I'm gonna kill you! You lost me a Galleon!" she said chasing after him.

Al appeared, then Scorpius, to a few of the family's surprise, but their shock at seeing Scorpius was nothing then when Max appeared.

He stepped out dusting off the old dress robe and looked up with red hair as Ron had instructed him to do. There was a pause then Harry began laughing.

"I thought those were supposed to be burnt the muggle way!" he laughed. "Isn't that what you had said, Ron?" He asked Ron who had just appeared with Hermione in their living room. "When we were helping you move, you said you wanted them shredded."

"They survived."

They had gotten there an hour early to help set up, but there really wasn't much to do. They hung a few streamers, set out the food and waited until everyone got there.

"What now?" said Scorpius looking excited.

"Haven't you ever done a New Year's party before?" Rose asked.

"Nope. Every other year, the Malfoys get together and have a family dinner to celebrate the last time we'll be together for the year, then we all go home and sleep."

"Oh, well, we eat, and talk, and listen to music until around twelve where we all meet in the lounge and count down the last minute of the year. Then we open bottles of wine – the kids get sparkling cider – we're not allowed to have even butterbeer until third year."

"But we drank butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks." Said Scor.

"Yeah well we were also in Hogsmeade two years early." She whispered.

The night went just as she had described. She felt a little sorry for Scorpius who was constantly being peered down on. Al was chatting and Max was getting a fair amount of attention because of the robe. Rose spent most of the night with Scorpius and Hugo who had gotten on very well with him. Apparently – Rose had no idea of this – Scor could do close up magic with playing cards and preformed to Hugo's enjoyment for a good amount of the night. Lily, Lucy and Louis watched as Scorpius preformed for them as well and to Rose's relief, a crowd of people started gathering. That is how Max was accepted rather quickly, because he had told stories, Scorpius was getting to do the same thing, but with illusions.

"You know this is what muggles think is magic." Said Scor as he pulled three foam balls from Lily's previously empty hands. "But really it's just sleight of hand, working quickly to keep the audience focused on one thing while you preform the trick with the other hand. It's deception." He said this last part pulling a flower from Lily's hair and Rose had no idea how he had done it.

"We sell a few of these muggle tricks at our joke shop." Said George sitting beside him. "I've never been able to get the hang of it though."

"We have five minutes until midnight, guys." Said Harry. "We should all wait in the lounge."

That's what they did. Everyone waited and ate there listening to the radio until they heard the host say, " _Good evening everyone! I'm am pleased to be starting off the countdown to a brand new year in five seconds. How about you all join me in counting down from, 60, 59, 58, 57, 56, 55_ -"

"54! 53! 52! 51! 50! 49-!" everyone counted together until, "5! 4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Confetti shot from the adult's wands as the kids danced in it. The parents all kissed and the children raised their glasses of sparkling cider as the host from the radio said, " _To good memories passed, and to brand new beginning! To ancient times, and to distant music!_ " It was all very fun for the first five minutes until they all had to pick up the confetti. Other than that, the evening was rather slow. After a few people stood up to share their resolutions that everyone knew they weren't going to keep, and after the food was all cleaned up and put away, the Potter's house was set back the way it was when they got there, Fred was chased into the snow by Grandma Weasley waving a book at him because he had tried to sneak hard jellybeans to the kids, they all bid each other goodbye, this time knowing that they weren't going to see them until after the year was over, and they all left whether by floo or by apparition to await the next morning where they would be brought back to Kings Cross station to catch the Hogwarts express at eleven.


	18. Max's Secrets at Last

**T** hey packed up the next morning and wasted no time in getting to the car. Platform 9 ¾ was almost just as crowded as it had been the day Rose was seen off to school. Certainly a lot more animals meowed, squeaked, and hooted along in cages. _Christmas presents._ Rose assumed. It was a very déjà vu experience, being back here. This time though, she could relax. She didn't have to worry about making friends because her best friends were walking along the platform beside her. She didn't have to worry about the sorting because she knew where she belonged, and she didn't have to worry about Quidditch try outs or classes because she had already made the team and she knew now that the subjects were a synch and those few that she didn't excel on, she knew people who did and could help her with them. This term though, this term there will be no more play acting. This term she was going to buckle down and study harder and longer. Exams were at the end of the year and she was determined to beat her mother's score in first year. But she decided to let Max know about this new regime tomorrow, she wanted him to have one last day of rest.

After hugging her parents and brother, Aunts and uncles, she stepped onto the train and made her way to the back compartment that Scorpius had already saved for them, his parents not needing to be there this time around. She smiled seeing Max peak into each and every compartment before crossing and Rose knew that he was checking to see if Danielle Daniels was in them. The train jerked and steamed away as they took their seats.

After a while, the train was passing farms and valleys, all covered in white snow.

"Okay, Christmas is over, I'm ready for the snow to be gone." Said Scorpius who was watching through the windows.

"Why don't we just use floo powder to get back to school?" Max asked. "Wouldn't that be a lot faster?"

"It's dangerous to the stupid kids who don't know to tuck their elbows in." said Rose. "Or the muggle borns who know nothing about floo travel, or those who have a weak stomach. Also, they don't like Hogwarts being connected to the floo network very often. There's always at least two rooms that are, but if someone were trying to assassinate the Headmaster or sneak into the school for kidnap they would just need to say _Hogwarts_! And they'd appear there."

"Can't people do the same thing with you guys?" Scor asked. "If someone wanted to meet Harry Potter or wanted to kill him, couldn't they just say, _The Potter's_! and appear there too? I can say, _My house!_ If I want to go there, I don't even have to put in an address."

"I used to think about that." Rose confessed. "So I looked it up and found that after a while of visiting the same place, you can just say where you want to go without the address and the fireplace will remember it. Unless the place you wanted to go was connected to you, like your house, the floo network will let you travel there easy!"

"But… how-?"

"It's magic." Al interrupted. "Don't question it because there often isn't an answer."

The food trolley visited their compartment and the four friends all bought a wide variety of sweets. Al, having already tried the disgusting options on the trip up, had settled with cakes and chocolates. None of them bought any licorice because even the smell made Max nearly vomit.

"Why don't you like it?" Al asked.

"Because it's disgusting." Max replied obviously. "Licorice, Satan's candy. I personally believe that demons twist the candy robes together in the depths of Hell."

"No you don't." Rose rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Max smiled, decapitating a chocolate frog. "Is anyone missing a Harry Potter?" he asked holding up a collectible famous wizard card that comes in every box.

"FRED! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Rose glanced out the window to see Fred running away laughing while Cian ran after him, soaking wet and shooting red light from her wand.

"Our wands!" Al exclaimed, pulling his from his bag. "We can use them now! Oh you beautiful piece of wood! Scor, help me turn this wrapper into money!" said Al excitedly.

"You can't." Scor replied.

They had to take the carriages back up to the castle and though only having been there for a few months, she felt comfort in riding through those iron gate flagged by two winged bores, into a second home, somewhere safe at least.

"Weasley!" she heard Rocky call from a distance away. She looked around to see him in a carriage two spaces behind her own. He stood up to wave at her.

"Yes, I can see you!" she called to him.

"Practice starts back tomorrow!" he called.

She gave him a thumbs up, but really being a little disappointed to be starting back so early.

Rose had let Max go to bed as early as he wanted that night, and sleep in bed as late as he pleased. She never forced him stay up or get up pass his time, but she did give him a hard time about it often. She joined Ishmael Stewart leaving the common room for practice at four-forty-five the next morning, and practice recommenced. Gryffindor had the next match against Hufflepuff and Rocky was training them to be stronger and faster this time around. He had learned from his past mistakes now knowing how far is 'too far' for them and was keeping it just within the boundaries. Rose had started to notice, over time, that she was finally getting visible muscle definition. Al and Scor had brought breakfast as usual and were waiting in the stands, but one very important thing was missing, an entire breakfast boy!

"Where's Max?" she asked when flying to the ground and pushing through the team helping themselves.

"In the hospital wing." Al replied.

"Why? Is he hurt?"

"No, he was asked to Madam Pomfrey's office, just before we headed up here."

"Do you know why?"

"She said something hurriedly about his blood results."

"When was this again? Do you think he's there yet? Why didn't you tell me?" she was trying to grab this information all at once, though it being small, to her, it was a big deal.

"Calm down, I've told you as early as possible."

"Al," she brought her voice to a whisper. "this could be the answer to what we've been looking for. Blood results? Talking about it in his office? It must be something important."

"I realize that." Said Al. "I tried to tag along and send Scor down here with the food, but Max refused, saying that he really wanted to go alone."

"But do you think he's talked to her yet? Do you think they're done?"

"No, he was _just_ called up and he said that he had to go to the restroom before then."

Rose was thinking. Al grabbed the ropes on her Quidditch robes and gently pulled her close. "If you leave now, you may be able to get to the window before he gets to her office."

She nodded and mounted her broom, taking off toward the school. She got to one of the windows to the main care area and peered though. It was completely deserted except for a bed with a curtain wrapped around where she knew Sarah Pots who had been jinxed with antlers lay. Rose climbed though, stepping silently onto one of the white linen beds and dropping her broom from the window which sunk slowly to the ground to hover at waist height above the grass. A door to her right squeaked and she jumped off the bed and slid under Sarah's curtain to hide under the mattress. She listened as a light almost skip of footsteps entered the room and knew it was Max.

"Awe, Mr. Everard," said Madam Pomfrey who had just left her office to meet him. Her voice sounded anxious and faltered before she continued.

Rose backed further across the smooth stone tile, that was no doubt cold, into the shadow of Sarah's bed as the Matron walked over and peered through the curtains.

"She's asleep." She said closing them again. Rose poked her head out to see only their silhouettes. "We'll have to speak here; Abby is using my office."

"The third stall in the guy's bathroom if out of paper," she heard Max say. "don't know if you wanted to tell anyone about that."

"Mr. Everard, there is something very serious I would like to speak to you about. Do you recall when I took blood from you a while back?"

"Yes. It hurt."

"We have found something very odd about it." She said.

"We?"

"I tried to figure it out myself, but the results were inconclusive, so I sent a sample to St. Mungo's Hospital for further study. What they sent back, was shocking…"

Rose leaned in closer to make sure she caught every word. Madam Pomfrey flipped through a stack of papers.

"Everard, your blood is made up of 5% of leukocyte."

"Soo that's…"

"White blood cells!" said Madam Pomfrey sounding hysteric; Rose saw her jab her finger repeatedly at a piece of paper her silhouette was showing him. "You have five times the amount as the average person, not only that, but the cells look as though they have mutated, grown larger, stronger, faster. You can heal faster on your own, then a patient at St. Mungo's can with the proper healer." She said with much worry and confusion in her voice.

"And that's bad?"

"It's impossible!" she exclaimed. "In all my years of working here, I have never been so stumped. We went through the records and you have never been taken in for any such treatment! Nor have you ever been taken in at all! Not for a cold, or a broken bone, or anything! Tell me, have you always been a safe child?"

Rose would have smiled at the ridiculousness of this question if she wasn't so focused on what Madam Pomfrey was saying.

"Well I've fallen from a couple trees, heard a couple cracks which, let me tell you, _hurt_ , but, um," his silhouette shrugged. "I always seem to be better within the next couple days."

"I don't understand it." The Matron muttered. "We did run several tests but, may I take further blood to verify our discovery? If somehow you hold the key to quick recovery, the answer to saving lives could be in your blood."

"…If it's that important." Rose watched him hold out his arm for her as she scrambled for a clean needle. Blood extraction was the only thing she really couldn't use her wand for.

The Matron thanked him with the promise to let him know what they find before leaving for her office. Max rubbed the spot that she had pricked him and muttered, "Huh…" before leaving also. Rose was amazed to hear his usual humming grow quieter as he grew further away; to be humming after news like that?

Rose tried to sit up before remembering that she was under a bed and hit her head. "Ow!" She muttered crawling out and rubbing the spot on her head. There was a blood curling scream as Sarah freaked out and threw a flower pot at her. Rose didn't feel like wasting time telling her to calm down, so she simply ran from the hall to make it to Charms in time. She spent the first half of lunch hour after Herbology, walking around with Al, telling him everything she had heard in the hospital wing and they spent the second half, chasing Peeves to retrieve her broom that he had stolen from outside the window.

"You know what this means?" Rose asked holding an icepack to her head from where Peeves had dropped the broom at last.

"It can mean a lot of things." Said Al using a charm to stitch up his robes from where Peeves had caught them with the end of a spear. "What are you thinking?"

"It means we know where to look now! We're not going in blind, we'll look in the anatomy section in the library. It also means…" she cringed slightly at the thought. "we have to start paying attention in Professor Binns class, see if he ever mentions anything that can help us."

"When has he ever mentioned anything that can help us?"

"We'll never know if we don't listen."

Though they both were very interested in Max's condition, it was Al who was doing most of the work. He always finished his homework before Rose did. Al could find the answers quickly and was always short and sweet, Rose wrote paragraphs for everything including the questions like, ("How old was Barnobus the Blarney when he won Madam Elise from the Duke of Downton?")

Scorpius wasn't much help; he didn't seem all too interested when they told him. He kept suggesting that it was some spell or curse and though researching that option, they had no luck in finding anything even similar. Scorpius tried to persuade them to leave it alone, but they were part Weasley, too stubborn to leave not knowing.

Rose had never told Max about what she had overheard; she didn't think he would take kindly of his privacy being invaded. He didn't approve of her knew study tactics either. He didn't understand why she was taking so much longer with homework than usual. She spent the first half of the day with her nose in books about healers and medicines and health and the second part actually working. One good thing about all these dead end books was that if anyone dropped dead in the Great Hall, she and Al knew ninety-eight resuscitation maneuvers.

She had tried to get him to confess what Madam Pomfrey had talked to him about over the weeks, but he refused, kept saying that it wasn't any of her business and that it wasn't anything bad he didn't think. Rose was starting to feel a bit hard toward him, he closed his home life off to her, his childhood, his parents, and now, really important information. He really didn't trust her and she couldn't understand why, besides the fact that she tells Al everything who tells Scorpius everything who isn't very good at keeping secrets.

This new blood condition wasn't the only odd thing about Max, besides the fact that he didn't lie. Rose had been watching her potion swirl from a dull gray to a light blue just as the instructions said it would at this point, four days after arrival. Beside her, was Max who looked as bored as though Professor Binns had taken on potions as well. Scorpius' potion was hardening around his stirring spoon and he was desperately trying to yank it out before Professor Killpii came around. Al was grinning as he dropped peppermint leaves into the cauldron which made it hiss and puff fresh smelling smoke into his face making his hair blow upward in his forehead. Rose had forgotten about the peppermint! She began stringing the stims of her leaves before the potion stopped spinning. A handful of what felt like pebbles hit her in the face suddenly, dust landing in her eyes and her stims falling into her cauldron, the only ingredient on the table that wasn't supposed to be added.

"Oh my god!" Scorpius exclaimed, holding his – now unsubmerged, cement covered – spoon in his fist and looking worried. "I'm sorry!"

"Was that your potion?" she exclaimed trying to wipe the rocks from her eyes which stung.

"Uh, I wouldn't call it a potion but, uh, yeah."

"Let me see." Said Professor Killpii, swooping down like an eagle to peer into her puffy red eyes. "I can't get the pebbles out without scratching your eye up." He gritted his teeth. "Would you like me to take to you the hospital wing?"

"I can manage." She replied.

"Okay, don't rub your eyes, you're pushing them further. Where do you think you're going Everard?" he said sternly.

"I'm making sure she gets to the hospital wing." He said innocently.

"She can manage." Said Killpii. "Last time you left my class you didn't return."

"I'm not trying to skip out this time, I'm just making sure she doesn't go blind on the way."

"You're staying here."

Rose headed up the dungeon stairs to emerge in a corridor. The dust felt like soap in her eyes. Something clanged behind her and she turned with one hand over an eye, and the other eye squinted watering. Max was trying to quiet the suit of armor that he had knocked over when appearing to have been hiding behind it.

"Max?" she said confusedly. "What are you doing here? Professor Killpii was really clear on not having you take me to the hospital wing."

"Max?" he said out of breath. "Oh, uh, yes. He changed his mind."

She didn't find this likely, but didn't think that he could have gotten here if Killpii didn't let him.

"Well come along then." She said seeing as he wasn't following.

"Er, right." He said hurrying to catch up to her. He looked uncomfortable and fidgety. She squinted down at his hands which were ringing and she noticed that he looked a lot skinnier than he did five minutes ago and she couldn't see his tiny freckles across his nose, though she assumed that it was just because everything was blurry in the first place. He was looking from side to side as though thinking that he was being watched.

"Like Scorpius to do this, huh?" she said. "How he turned a sleeping draft into cement is beyond me."

Max laughed a lot harder then she thought he would, in fact, she didn't mean for that to make him laugh at all. It sounded stiff and unnatural.

"Max, are you alright?" she asked slowly, blinking water from her eyes to better see his blurry face.

"Why are you asking me? You're the one with 'stuff' in your eyes." He said quickly.

"It's rocks," she said. "and you're acting weird, and your hair is brown."

He shrugged, following close behind her rather than his usual confident stride in front. Rose pushed the hospital doors opened and knocked on Madam Pomfrey's office door to let her know she had a patient.

"Alright," Max gulped, sweating. "I have to get back, Professor Kipplii,"

"Killpii." She corrected.

"is waiting for me, uh, bye." And he tore in the opposite direction looking down at a watch on his wrist.

She stared after him. That was very peculiar behavior. Why was he so nervous? And since when did he carry a watch?

"What happened to you back there?" she whispered to him during the last ten minutes of potions that she had made it back for.

"Where?" he whispered. His hair had gone back too normal, normal being indigo, and he looked fuller, less nervous.

"Back there!" she said. "You were acting all weird."

"I don't know where, 'there' is." He whispered. "If you want to ask a question, you'll need to be more specific than that."

"Well, where's your watch?" she tried.

"Right there." He jabbed the end of his quill at her own watch on her wrist.

"No, I mean the larger gray one with the orange buttons and…" she faltered. He was looking at her as though she had gone mad. As though he had no recollection of walking her to the hospital wing. "You know what I mean!" she exclaimed.

"Miss. Weasley!" said Professor Killpii loudly. "This class may not be important to you, but please don't disrupt it because other people may actually be learning something." Her face turned red and she crossed her arms.

Giving up on her potion which the mint stems had ruined. Maybe it was just the fact that she had rocks in her eyes and couldn't see anything that made her think Max had been nervous and sweaty. But she knew that she had seen a watch and Max may be trying to make her think that she was going mad as a laugh, but at least _she_ hadn't smelled like mold. Of course, he didn't either now. Now he smelled like the peppermint that he had been sucking on in potions class. But when he walked her to the hospital, he smelled funny.

Her birthday rolled by, she received gifts from her family and friends, breakfast that day was a shower of brightly wrapped presents. Al had Yoman make her a cake which they ate in an empty classroom after hours.

"Max, why do you read the newspaper?" Rose asked one morning after the post had arrived. "Plenty of other first years get the paper, but you're the only one I ever see reading it."

"I like to stay current." He mumbled, scanning the pages. "Like why Koplan was just sent to Azkaban."

"What? My dad worked with Koplan! I never knew he was sent to prison."

"That's because you don't read the paper."

Rose waited for a moment, she knew that people didn't like to be disturbed when reading, she certainly didn't, but breakfast was when she got most of her talking out in the day.

"Oh." She said reading the back of the newspaper he was reading. "Bones Drury just died, I don't mean to sound insensitive, but that's a relief." Max flipped the paper around so quickly that he almost tore it.

"Where?"

"What's your hurry?" James asked from beside him. "Don't worry, the article will still be there when you flip it around. And you just stuck your elbow into my cereal."

"Really though," Rose continued. "You can't expect your child to not turn out evil with a name like _Bones_. Released from Azkaban four years later and celebrates by torturing those muggle children; you heard about that right?"

"Uh, yeah." He muttered, not paying attention.

"I bet he wasn't too happy for being the reason the Drury name died out, generations it went on and on. My dad was the one who helped track him down the second time you know?"

"The Drury name didn't die out." Max replied, still scanning the obituary with an intent scowl.

"What? He had children?"

"Just one, Belladonna Drury."

"Really? What's she doing now? I haven't heard about her."

"You should have if your dad worked in the Auror office at the time. She's in hiding, um, under charges of kidnap – Four years back."

"Dad was only in the office for two years. Who did she kidnap?"

"A boy our age."

"And she hasn't been caught?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Nope. She's been sighted a good few times, but always ends up disappearing when the authorities arrive. I think by now the ministry has given up on finding the boy."

"I doubt it." Rose replied. "The Auror office is really big into closing mysteries, it's probably still on their radar, just, a good few spaces down."

"You would think by now," said Max dropping the paper as if angry. "that the boy would have found a way to escape, send a signal, alert someone. He wasn't a stupid kid… so I've heard. That's a picture of Belladonna." He said turning the paper back toward her.

Under the photo of Bones Drury, was a smaller picture of a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair and deep brown eyes that in no way reflected her striking appearance. They looked dark and full of hate, her face, though clear and clean, showed anger and distress.

"Max? What's that other picture?" his hand was covering another face. Rose could only make out an eye and ear, but what she could see looked somewhat familiar. "Max, is that the boy?"

He turned the paper around so she couldn't see what he was looking at. For a long moment he stared.

"Can I see it?" she asked reaching for the paper.

" _Incendio!_ "

Rose pulled her hand back as the paper caught fire in Max's hand.

"Oops." He said.

"Oops?" she exclaimed, dumping a pitcher of water onto the flaming cinnamon rolls. "What do you mean _oops_? You said the incantation!"

"I was done with the paper." He shrugged. "If you wanted to see it, you should have asked sooner."

"When have you _ever_ burnt your paper when you were done with it?"

"We're gonna be late for potions, we should probably leave." He said standing up and patting out a bit of fire that had landed on his lap.

"You know, if you didn't want me to see the picture, you could have just said so." She said, walking from the hall toward the dungeons.

"Sure, because you wouldn't have forcibly taken it from my hands." He said sarcastically.

"So you _were_ trying to hide it from me!"

"So what?" he said lazily.

" _So what_!" she repeated in outrage. "Max! Do you realize that I know almost nothing about you! You have told me nothing! You are so closed, so secretive and I'm sick of it!"

"Chill out, it was just a paper." He said in surprise.

She stopped walked to turn toward him. "It's not just the paper! You've done this to me ever since I first met you! I know nothing important about you!"

"That's not true!" said Max now becoming angry. "You know my favorite foods, band, classes. You know the stuff that makes me, me!"

"That's not the important stuff!"

"So who I am is not important?"

"I don't understand why you don't trust me!"

"Why do you think I don't trust you?"

"You never tell me anything! I tell you _everything_! I heard what Madam Pomfrey wanted to see you for, and that is a really big deal! And you said nothing about it! I was waiting, I was waiting for you to tell me! And you never did!"

"You, Rose! Are an exceptionally open person! You spill your heart out to whoever will listen and feel cheated if others don't do the same! And why would I tell you about my blood condition?"

"Because I'm your friend!" she interrupted indignantly.

"I know why you're behind on work! I see you reading those anatomy books, I'm not daft! I know you haven't dropped the subject. Here I am trying to help you get caught up on school, and trying to get your mind off of me and my problems. Why would I give you further information that would distract you completely? You guys won't listen to Scorpius!"

"You're the one who puts him up to getting us to drop it?" she said quietly. "Ugh, you're unbelievable!"

A few people passing them to go to class, stared as they argued.

"So what if I did? You guys weren't listening to me."

"Max, you are my best friend! I don't need you to tell me everything, but I do want to feel like you can trust me with something. Trust is everything."

"You need to stop being so pushy!"

"What!"

"You're always asking and asking, thinking that you can wiggle information out of me. You think I don't know what you're trying to do?"

"Well maybe if you'd just tell me something once in a while! What do you expect me to do?"

"To wait until I'm ready to share!"

"How am I supposed to know how long it'll take?"

"It's called patience!"

They were right up in each other's faced, scowling.

"Is this a bad time?" they turned to see Scorpius and Al standing in front of them looking uncomfortable. "Only, Professor Killpii sent us to find you guys; class has started."

Their table was heavy with tension. Scor and Al sat in between them for class and Al had to keep grabbing Rose's knife to keep her from flinging tape worms to the floor; she was cutting so ferociously.

Did he really just call her pushy? Really? He was the one in the wrong! She was just trying to look out for him, to make sure he's not going to drop dead. And Scorpius, to try'n sabotage their studying? She wasn't very angry toward Scorpius though. Max's hair and eyes remained red throughout the lesson which only made Rose angrier. Why was he upset?

That evening, the four of them sat studying in the library. She and Max had hardly spoken though his hair and eyes had gone back to their original color telling her that he had relaxed a bit. Scorpius and Al left early with an arm full of books, clearly not enjoying her and Max's silent company at the moment.

They sat there for a while, not making eye contact. Neither of them wanted to be the first to leave. Rose had calmed down since their fight, and was really wanting to talk to him again. Though they were still beside each other all day, she missed his company. Max closed _The Standard Book of Spells, grade 1_ and rubbed his eyebrows.

"Rose?" he said quietly. "I do trust you."

"No." she said quickly. "You don't have to talk about it. I was wrong to jump at you and I understand that some things aren't to be shared.

"No, Rose, listen." He interrupted. "I do trust you. I'm sorry that I haven't been more generous about my life it's just," he took a deep breath. "It's just, I am ashamed to have come from where I came."

"Norway?"

"No, my family, or what broken pieces I have left of it."

Rose put her book down to listen.

"I don't say much about my past because I hardly remember it. It's all just a big blur, it all happened when I was young. I asked and I pester my dad to tell me about it, to fill in the blanks, but he tells me that I probably shut those memories off for a reason and to not try'n retrieve them."

"What do you remember?" she asked hopefully.

He put his fingers to his temples and tried to think. "I remember things like being in a dark room with a healer, well he might have been a healer, he had a white coat on. He would be holding a wand and a needle. He used needles on me a lot. I remember my mom standing there watching him force potions down my throat, many of them burnt."

Rose was listening with her fingers making their way slowly to her mouth.

"I remember… my dad crying a lot. Issue was, I couldn't speak English at the time I was five I think. My dad would have to interpreted what she was saying to me. The same kind of things happened to my brother. His name was William. I would be watching him cry and squirm as the healer would be doing something with his wand. I have nightmares sometimes about, being hit, by my mom but I don't know if that really happened. All these memories come in flashes, we moved to Britain when I was five."

"What happened to your brother?" she asked, remembering their conversation about him not knowing if he'll ever come to Hogwarts.

"He was kidnapped, by Belladonna Drury."

There was a long pause where a thousand thoughts and a thousand questions sped through her head making it hurt.

"Do you know why she wanted him?" she decided to ask.

"No."

"What did your mom do?"

"She left."

"And, your dad?"

"He had us pack up and move to Dingle. I remember, I told him, I kept asking, 'Why are we leaving? Will might come back. William will find a way back to me'. He never listened."

"What was he like? Will?"

"He was smart. I was older than him but he would always have us hide in the kitchen cupboard when mom came looking."

"What did he look like?"

"A lot like me." He smiled. "He looked a lot like me. I read the paper because I'm always trying to see if they've found my brother yet. Because if they have, then I will need to let him know where we are. Rose, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to look at me the way you're looking at me now."

Rose blinked and tried to change whatever expression she was giving him, but she was having trouble holding back a tear.

"You feel bad for me now; you pity me; that's not what I wanted. I wanted to come to Hogwarts and make a new name for myself, to be cut off from what happened in the past, to try'n forget it. I suppose it was stupid for me to think that I could hide something like this. I…" he faltered, then swallowed. "I don't want you to treat me different, okay?"

"Okay…" she replied. Thank you for telling me." She whispered.

She had a hundred more questions one of which included, _why can't you lie?_ But she thought it would be wiser to take one step at a time. He did a very big thing today, letting go a bit. She knew it would be good for him to have someone else help carry the weight of his brother being kidnapped and having an abusive mother. He had been carrying the weight himself for so long. He often twitched and squirmed in his sleep. Rose knew that they were nightmares, but never asked.

They left the library soon after and found Scorpius and Albus crouched down by the entrance with a pile of books beside them. When they saw Rose and Max emerge, they became very interested in a fly walking across the stone floor.

"Guys?" Rose asked not buying their distraction.

"Uh," said Al. "We figured you guys would make it up after we left."

Scorpius cut in. "But believe us, we were _not_ expecting to hear all that."


	19. Max's Accidental Date

**R** ose was really quite glad that Scor and Al had overheard what Max had told her. That way, she didn't have to hide it from them. Max didn't seem angry; he had said that it was one less time he would have to relive it. But ever since Max's honesty in the library, she seemed to have developed this new feeling toward him that she didn't like, was it pity?

Valentine's Day was coming up and everywhere they looked, boyfriends and girlfriends linked arms down corridors and made open displays of affection that made everyone around them uncomfortable. People were asking each other to the next Hogsmeade weekend scheduled on 14, February. Max joined the Gryffindor table a couple days before, red faced and looking furious with himself.

"What's your deal?" asked Scorpius while eating marshmallow pie.

"I just…" he started with his hands over his face. "I just accepted to be Valentine for…"

"Who?"

He glanced over at the doors leaving the great hall to see Danielle skip in and look around. She caught sight of Max and waved enthusiastically. Max fake smiled and waved awkwardly back. Al roared with laughter.

"You're the Valentine of Danielle Daniels?" he laughed.

"I didn't mean to!"

"How did you not mean to?" Scor smiled. "It's not a trick question."

"I was walking down the corridor and I heard someone call by name so I turned around and said ' _yes?'_ Then she got all excited and happy and that's when I realized, she had said, ' _Max! Will you be my Valentine?'_ "

"How did you miss a full sentence?" Scor asked.

"I was busy watching Peeves fill a suit of armor with jell-o."

"What's the big deal?" Rose asked. "She's not going to Hogsmeade and there's nothing else special planned."

"The deal is that now I have to spend a whole day with her and get her chocolate and pretend I'm having fun. And after Valentine's Day, I'll go back to avoiding her and hurt her feelings. It also means," he leaned in close to whisper. "That I can't go to Hogsmeade with you guys."

"We're not going to Hogsmeade anyway." Said Al.

"What? Why not?"

"We don't have a disguise, we can't where the masks, and Rose here doesn't want to run into Illya and have to explain where she's been."

Rose hit Al in the arm but didn't deny it.

"If you don't want to go with her, then just say so, tell her what happened." Suggested Scorpius.

"NO!" Rose exclaimed. "If you're gonna dump Danielle, you'd better keep one eye open when you sleep and your hand on your wand because she'll kill you! Besides, you never say yes to a girl, bring her spirit to 100%, then tell her that you didn't mean it. You'd be the biggest douchebag there is."

"Well then," said Max. "you three have fun laughing at love birds together, I'll be writing my will."

"I won't be with them." Said Al with a half concealed smile.

"Why not?" Rose asked.

"Because I already have a Valentine." He smirked.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just did."

"Who?" said Rose becoming giddy, and really, quite shocked that Al had his first date already.

"This lucky guy is spending a whole day with Olivia Merik. You know, she's the Slytherin sister of Oliver, Owen, and Oscar?" said Scorpius shaking Al by the shoulders.

"Did you ask her?" asked Max.

"No…" said Al. "She's pretty and nice, and she asked so I said sure."

"Awe, that's so exciting!" she said gripping his arm tightly. "My little brother is growing up!"

"Cousin."

"Close enough."

"Wait," said Scor. "So that means that Rose and me are the only ones without Valentines?"

"Oscar had asked me yesterday." Said Rose offhandedly. "But I respectfully said no because I saw him eat a bug the day before."

"Oh!" Scorpius exclaimed. "Rosie! Why don't we be each other's Valentines?"

"Scor, we don't all need a date." She tried.

"No, but Max and Al one. Also two other guys in my dormitory, Olivia, even Relctory."

"Relctory has a date?" she said in surprise.

"Well, most of one. You know Limpy Libby?"

"Calvert has someone." Said Max. "Please, Rose!" he begged. "If all of you have a Valentine then you can join me and Danielle! I won't have to pay any attention to her at all!"

"Yes you will." Rose corrected. She looked around at Max's pleading face, Scorpius' hopeful expression and Al's hopping eyebrows. She really didn't want to celebrate Valentine's Day at all, she had always enjoyed laughing at everyone else much better. But then again, it was just Scorpius. "Yeah, sure." She shrugged. "What all will it include?"

"Well," Scorpius thought for a moment. "we already hang out most of the time so, nothing really, but if you do feel the need to buy me chocolates, I won't abject."

Valentine's day rolled around and everywhere they looked, flower petals were falling from the ceiling, Valentine's day cards were flying across halls to find their addressee. Scor had given her a card because, ("Al said that I had to. See? It says 'to my rosebud!' Get it? Because your one of my buds, and your name is Rose!") he said this as if it were the cleverest thing in the world. Other than that, Scorpius was right in saying that being a Valentine won't include anything, it felt like a normal day except for the constant giggling coming from the girl hugging Max's arm. Danielle thought that Max's hair was red to celebrate the occasion, Rose really knew why, and found it quite funny. Herbology was spent with the Slytherins de-licing rockshood wood. Danielle kept touching Max's hair which made him cringe and pull away. He ended up putting the Rockshood between them because she was skittish to reach around the lice.

"Why don't you separate them?" Rose whispered to Neville.

"I would, but there is no valid reason. Believe me, I'm looking."

"Personal harassment?" Rose suggested.

"He's the one who accepted her date request." He chuckled.

Max was incredibly grateful toward Dalbert for finally splitting him and Danielle up. She was so close to him that he wasn't able to cast a proper disarming spell with her holding onto his arm. After Dalbert had moved her, Max stretched his arms out and gave the Professor a look of admiration and gratitude and Dalbert winked back. They had already worked on disarming spells, but today, they were learning how to make them stronger and longer.

"Remember," said Dalbert. "disarming spells are most typically used to unarm your opponent of their wand. If preformed properly, the wand should shoot out of your opponent's hand, if preformed improperly, it'll just vibrate a bit, or do nothing at all. The stronger, the better. If you hit your opponent in the chest with a strong disarming spell, they should fly backward, but be careful, don't use this spell unless it is a serious situation. If you miss, if you hit a wrist or an ankle for example, it may dislocate the joint in that area. So today, we're practicing accuracy."

He stood before a pile of cushions and allowed the students to blast his in the chest one at a time. It was all very fun, Rose knocked him off his feet to fly a good meter backward. Max simply knocked him off balance.

"You're distracted Everard." Said professor Dalbert struggling back up from the cushions. "I know you can do much better than that and for goodness sake Miss. Daniels, back off a bit, please!"

In all, it was a good day for Rose. She and Scorpius didn't act any different and weren't teased for not having a date. Al and Olivia, who had long brown hair and strong eyes, talked for most of the day, but Rose and Scor were having too much fun watching and poking fun at Max's misery to pay much attention to what Al was doing. Dinner was decked out with flowers and pink garland. They had ham, sweet potato casserole, and salad. Dessert was jell-o, raspberry pudding, strawberry cheesecake and a load of other stuff that all fit the occasion.

"Good night, Danielle!" Max said as soon as he scrambled through the portrait of the fat lady, and he ran up the boy's stairs as fast as he could.

Danielle was the happiest person in the dormitory that night. The moment she had gone to bed, she had grabbed her diary and began scribbling frantically.

Rose listened to her tell the other girls how the day went. Rose heard a story very different from the one she had witnessed all day. At crucial parts like, ("He was leaning in slowly but seemed to get too shy because he backed up again.") Alexis would smile and roll her eyes in Rose's direction. Rose knew that Max had been trying to reach pass her to get his bag that she had almost sat on.

She explained to Max, Danielle's behavior after hours the next morning.

"Best get those dress robes cleaned up bud, because you're getting married." Scorpius joked.

"Shut up." Scowled Max. "That was one of the worst days I've had in memory. Smell me, I took like three showers but do I still smell like her Daisy perfume?"

Things went back to normal after that, Danielle was still following him everywhere, at a closer range than usual. He continued to climb over tables and double take in the opposite direction when she was around, and she still didn't get the hint. He had been spending a lot of time in the boy's bathroom now, or else they were all in the gardens. But he could never escape her in classes. It came to it, that when in the common room after hours, he would leave for bed, which meant that Danielle had no reason to stay up anymore, Rose would give him the okay, and he would come back down to study. Astronomy on the roof had been cut down to once a week because of the winter. But Scor, Rose, and Al really didn't want to have it at all. They couldn't afford not to though. Scorpius was getting good grades on his Astronomy homework now, Al was becoming more interested in the study of the stars, but Rose was just as bored as ever. Max would talk, not only about the study, but about how to read the planets and what they meant in foretelling the future, which Rose didn't buy at all.

Professor Dalbert had started his students on spells beyond their grade level, up to third year! He kept telling them that he saw power and strength in them and knew that they could manage. Rose had mastered the disarming spell, fire, confounding, and was now working on conjuring small items from thin air. She had managed to conjure a bunch of flowers mid-February which earned Gryffindor ten points. Slytherin was in the lead for the house cup, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor then Hufflepuff down by five points. It wasn't looking good for them.

Rose was very confident about their next Quidditch match. They had trained with a consistency finally and had become much stronger and much more accurate in aim. Their match was to be held on the last weekend of February as an evening game.

"She's been sighted!" Rose exclaimed excitedly shaking the newspaper in her hand. A good few people from around them stared surprised.

"Who?" Max asked.

Rose plopped the paper down right on top of Max's waffles and pointed at the article on the third page. "Belladonna!" she whispered. "In Peltston. That's not far from here!"

"Again?" Max took the paper from his waffles and squinted at the pages to see through the syrup making their way through the pages, and he scanned it thoroughly. "She's getting sloppy."

"Not sloppy enough to have been on the run from the Ministry for four years now." Said Al.

Ever since she had really found out what Max's issue was, what had happened to him, to his brother, she had been studying, trying to help. She didn't think that she could ever be the one who brought about the capture of the kidnapper, she only wanted to fully understand. She had looked up everything she could about the Drury family. It went back a very long way and was not a pleasant read. They had been a pureblood family all the way back to the middle ages, one of them, Hypothina Drury, had been a witch hunter though being one herself. She would track down and trick muggle borns, half-bloods, and blood traitors and expose them, take their wands and have them be burnt at stake to improve the perfect race of magic. She was the one mostly responsible for having _actual_ witches and wizards caught. This type of barbaric behavior was passed down through generations after. The Drury family was mentioned in books such as _Monstrosities of the 17_ _th_ _Century, Brutal and Barbaric Killings in Britain,_ and even one titled, _Drury does_ _ **not**_ _mean Love._

The more Rose uncovered, the more she doubted that William was still alive. She showed Max every one of her findings even if unpleasant. He seemed to already know most of what she was showing him but insisted that Will was defiantly still alive. She figured that the thought of someone you were close to, possible being dead was a horrible thing to think. What if it were Hugo? Or even Al? She couldn't bear the thought and didn't understand how Max could ever be as light hearted as he was though secretly admired him for it. Secretly because she knew that if she told him this, his face would go read and he would shuffle his feet awkwardly.

For the first time so far, she was really quite nervous about the Quidditch match that night. She wasn't as uncomfortable against Slytherin because – not only was she anxious for the game to be over and to have a proper rest – she was playing against Al which made her feel as though it was only a backyard game. But with Hufflepuff, though not as rehearsed as Slytherin, they were exceptional at teamwork.

Rose walked onto the pitch beside her team gripping her broom with sweaty palms and stopped in the middle facing the Hufflepuffs. The stadium was well lit with huge glowing orbs around the stands, not to mention the hundreds of blue wand tips that the students had lit. She couldn't see Max, or Al, or Scorpius in the crowd, but she supposed it didn't matter. She stood across from Maddy Wistle a Hufflepuff chaser, but wasn't making eye contact like the other players were with their equals. She was glancing at the person Enoc Hubert was smiling at. Illya Vizzini was geared up in his beater uniform and looking as friendly and unfrightening as ever. Whatever small feeling in her stomach that Halloween was gone, but she did want to wish him luck. They had gotten on very well and she thought that if she had been in his grade, that they could have been really good friends. Talking to him had felt natural, much like talking to Max. She was poked in the arm and turned to see Isaac Fisher point to her broom indicating that she should mount it like all the rest had. No sooner did she swing her leg over did Madam Hooch blow her whistle and had them take to the sky. With the release of the quaffle, the game was on and Rose swooped down to take it first as they had planned. She threw it to Isaac who passed it to Watson who scored without fifteen seconds passing.

"Whoa now!" called Fred's voice from the commentator's box. "Early start on Gryffindors part! Much practice, do you think they can crack this?"

"My brother's a poet and didn't know it!" sang Roxy through the microphone. "But to answer your question, I truly believe that this is anyone's game!"

Watson swept along the grass to avoid Sydney's steal and tossed it up to Isaac, who made for the goal hoop, blocked by Moore, caught by Rose who had been waiting under the goal hoop to score.

Five minutes in, it was Gryffindor eighty to Hufflepuff thirty. The Hufflepuff team was really good, flawless even in their passes and maneuvers the only thing was, Gryffindor's keeper was better. Rose had to flip in the air to avoid a bludger aimed by Illya. She took it extremely personally, forgetting that, that was the goal of a beater. Her ears turned red as she retrieved the quaffle that had just been passed to her and scored. She turned to see Illya whip his bat around a couple times in his hand and hit a bludger toward Ishmael. The bludger was slowed down by hitting Rocky's robe, then hit Ishmael Stewart in the stomach. He doubled over on his broom coughing before starting back slowly. Furious at Vizzini for doing exactly what his position required, she sped pass Illya, grabbing his broom tail, making him spin around and drop his beaters bat, then having to duck to avoid a bludger. A whistle was blown and Gryffindor got a penalty. Wistle flew to take it and made a goal pass James which did little to improve their score.

Rose scored pass Hufflepuff, one, two, three more times and just hoped that Rocky would catch the snitch already, she was tired and hungry. She was thinking about how annoyed she was with the bobby pin slipping slowly from her hair when the quaffle was passed to her just before a terrible blow hit her in the shoulder with a force that knocked her off balance, she glanced at the bludger bolting pass her, then at Illya who was following through with his bat, and she slipped from her broom.

Rose gripped and grasped at the slippery handle as the broom tilted vertically and before knowing what in the world was going on, she found herself falling. She had been at such a great height when she fell, that she was surely not going to be able to walk away from this. She through the quaffle to Enoc – though he wasn't a chaser – knowing that if she hit the ground while still holding it, the play wouldn't be counted. She watched in slow motion as Watson bolted toward her, Enoc dropped the quaffle and flew toward her, James abandoned the goal hoops to fly toward her as well and the commentator's box erupted with noise though incomprehensible. She watched the ground grow closer in a blur, then something gripped her ankle and a terrible pain shot up through her leg as everything around her went black.

"Shhh. No loud noises, she hit her head pretty bad." A familiar voice whispered from somewhere beside her.

"We weren't saying anything."

"Shhh!"

"Your shushing is giving her a headache."

Rose opened her eyes and blinked the bright light away. She couldn't see where she was because of the wall of people around her, but giving that she was laying on a white linin bed and she remembered falling from her broom, she would safely assume that she was in the hospital wing. Around her was the entire Gryffindor team looking anxious but excited, her cousins, Max and Scorpius and Al sitting at the bottom of her bed, some members of the Hufflepuff team, and Professor Dalbert.

"What happened in the match!" she asked worriedly, sitting up far too fast and grabbing her head that she was surprised to find was bandaged.

Scorpius pushed her back down.

"We won!" said Enoc punching her good arm excitedly.

"But, how? You were short a player." She asked confusedly.

"Well," James started, color coming back to his face in seeing that she was not dead. "after Professor Dalbert brought you up to the hospital wing, Madam Hooch asked if we wanted to continue the game given that we now play with only two chasers. And considering that you would have killed us if we said no, we agreed. And we won within two minutes! Rocky caught the snitch!"

Rose sighed in relief, but was rather disappointed that she didn't get to witness Gryffindor's first win of the season or celebrate with them. "…Why's my head bandaged?" she asked slightly embarrassed that it might sound like a stupid question.

"Well you hit your head on the ground didn't you?" Scorpius laughed.

"Did I?"

"Not too bad though." Al cut in. "Vizzini got you by the ankle before full impact."

She looked up to see Illya push through the crowd of Hufflepuffs looking uncomfortable. "I'm really sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to hit you, well, I suppose I did mean to hit you, just not knock you off your broom."

She was looking at him with her arms crossed. "Well," she stopped and cleared her voice to not sound so much like Aubrey. "I suppose I can't be too mad at you considering you did save me from cracking my head open on the pitch." She said without making eye contact.

"Uh, sorry about that too." He added fiddling with his thumbs. "I dislocated your ankle when grabbing it."

Rose tore back the sheet to see her ankle in bandages too.

"Madam Pomfrey fixed it up." He assured her. "It'll just be weak for a bit. Really, I feel terrible. It's hard being a beater when I have to purposely hurt, er…" he gestured to her looking as though he didn't want to finish his sentence.

"A girl?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"A first year." He finished.

"Good game anyway?" she said reaching for his hand.

"I'll take this one." He said grasping her left hand resting neatly over her stomach. She felt his familiar, surprisingly soft grip and shook hands with the rest of the Hufflepuff team.

"What's wrong with my right arm?" she asked peeling back the bandages over her completely numb shoulder. "It doesn't, OH DEAR MERLIN!" it was really quite shocking. Her entire shoulder area was purple, black and blue, with a touch of red. It looked like a well beaten piece of meat. "But-" she stammered. "But I don't feel it at all."

"Madam Pomfrey numbed it and took the swelling away. By the time the numbing wears off, most of the pain will be gone. It's just gonna look nasty for a little while." Said Al poking it.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, still in shock about how her arm hadn't fallen off.

"The Matron wants to keep you here over night." Said Scorpius.

A sinking feeling set inside her. If she had to stay overnight, she would miss the Gryffindor victory party that was to be raging in the common room to celebrate their win. But she looked at her arm and thought it to be a smart idea.

The Matron came shuffling through the office door in a hurry.

"Ah, you're up, good." She said briskly. "Where did all you come from? Seems half the school has turned up to visit. Alright all of you, we only have a limited number of visitors allowed at once."

The Hufflepuff team left, as did most of her cousins, Professor Dalbert, and the Gryffindor team. Ishmael winked at her before turning out of the door and she didn't understand why. Was he wishing her good luck? Or trying to tell her something?

"Drink this." Said Pomfrey shoving a small shot glass – which contained a thick brown liquid – Into her hand.

The medicine tasted of vinegar and ash burnt bread and was disgustingly chunky with small squishy morsels. The Matron grabbed her nose suddenly in seeing as she was about to spit it all over her three friends who were at the bottom of her bed. She patted Rose on the back and tilted her head upward.

"That's it, dear." She mumbled. "Keep your tongue back. Now you five," she looked at Fred, James, Al, Scorpius, and Max with a hard, stern stare. "You're to give her rest, a head injury like that we need time and silence to heal, understand?"

"Of course." Said Fred saint like.

She looked at him suspiciously. "We'll let her rest," said Scorpius. "Slytherin's honor." He faltered. "But I suppose a promise from a Slytherin isn't worth much."

She stared at them apprehensively before turning to Max. "I will need to speak to you, Mr. Everard." Max groaned and slumped over after her and closed the office door behind them. Fred counted from to ten on his fingers, slowly making his way to one. As soon as all his fingers closed to fists, he and James took Rose from under the arms and pulled her out of the bed.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked surprised.

"Shhh." Said Scorpius putting his finger to her libs, he often forgot the personal boundaries deal. "We're breaking you out!" he whispered excitedly.

"Technically we're kidnapping you." Said James who was directing her out of the hospital wing.

She hobbled onward with her bad ankle hovering above the cold stone floor. "But you promised you were going to let me get rest." She said to Scorpius who was following behind them, holding her shoes. "You gave her a Slytherin promise."

"Those don't mean much." Said Al.

"Actually it did." Scorpius corrected. "I said We'll let you get rest, _we_ meaning Al and I. _We'll_ let you get rest, but those two won't."

"We're not letting you miss your first victory party." Said James.

Rose felt a rush of gratitude toward them but wouldn't express it, knowing that this was the wrong thing to do.

"Take the bandages off your head." Said Al. "We don't want you walking in with that thing on, it looks terrible. Don't worry, your head won't fall off." He said evidentially reading her expression.

That's one of the things about having guy friends, you rarely receive compliments. Especially not from Scorpius who was horrible with words. Max was the best at giving them but wasn't as good at receiving.

Scorpius and Al stayed outside the portrait of the fat lady while James and Fred lifted her through the portrait hole. She had to blink a couple times to understand what she was seeing. Every Gryffindor it seemed was all squished into the common room. Banners and posters hung from the ceiling and walls. Delicious smells were heavy in the air and a few people were spitting fire and turning in and out of bird form from eating the special effect sweets. James brought Al and Scor a shoebox full of food and drinks before they retreated to bed. She looked around to find her Quidditch team all with banners draped across their front and flower chains around their necks, all holding up butterbeers and cheering along with their fans. A girl that Rose had never even seen before came skipping over when seeing Rose enter, draped a banner and flower chain over her as well and directed her over to the team for a picture. Rose looked down slightly embarrassedly at her banner which read, _Victorious._

"Don't give that look." Ishmael whispered from next to her. "You deserve this just as much as the rest of us."

"But I almost made you guys forfeit the match." She said grimly back.

"But you didn't!" said Enoc punching her numb arm encouragingly, grinning and soaking up every bit of this glory. "You're only in first year and you scored half our goals! I mean blimey, you threw me the quaffle though falling to certain death and took a cracked skull and dislocated ankle for it! So enjoy this, with you on the team, they'll be many more parties like this." He grinned, rubbing her head like she was his little brother. "Smile!" he wrapped his arm around her neck as the photo was snapped.

The party lasted well into the morning. Rose had thought that people would be angry with her for earning a penalty and interrupting the game, but on the contrary, they were very interested to hear exactly what had happened. Near three, Ortho had a wand to his throat and was rapping, a very sloppy, non-rehearsed rap in an amplified voice that was making people laugh and boo and had Rose thinking that he had one too any butterbeers. Max on the other hand, had more than Ortho and Fred combined and was showing no signs of dazedness, or discombobulation.

"What did Madam Pomfrey want you for?" she asked, having to duck to avoid a… well, a duck flying through the common room for some reason.

"She needed blood." He shrugged. "She's taken so much; I'm surprised I can still function."

"Actually the red bone marrow can make roughly three million red blood cells each second."

He stared for a moment, perplexed. "I've read a lot of health books lately." She confessed.

For being told to get rest, she had three hours that night. No thanks to Max who had never been to a 'fun party' so he said and gave her no choice but to keep an eye on him and keep him from getting into the firewhisky belly beans, standing on the table to rap with Ortho, or from telling everyone about their Moonacher incident because he loved telling stories, but she knew a good few people in the room who would snitch. She knew it was safe to go to bed when seeing that he had passed out on the couch deep enough for Tyler to balance empty bottles on his head, then James to start a coin tossing game of knuts into the bottles.


	20. A Norwegian Ransom

**R** ose was extremely tired the during the first weeks of March. It seemed that the Gryffindor victory party had started a nightly tradition of lack of sleep. Homework was worse than ever. The teachers were trying to get the students ready for the exams coming up in the next few months. Everyone in the school was complaining about the early load of work and calling the Professors nutters, but Rose thought that they were quite right.

She was really excited to get an early start on it all and was sure that she would do well. Especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts which she had become very good at. In fact, she was excelling in every class. They weren't hard if you payed attention and listened, but everyone seemed to rather flick blubber pods at the head of the person in front of them and complain about not understanding, or the work being impossible. There wasn't a question asked where Rose's hand wasn't in the air, even the hypothetical ones, which made her turn red when the teacher would call her out for a lack of common sense.

Max would rant about that teacher's lack of couth and poor manners after those classes, he also called them a series of different things that would win him lines if overheard. He never slandered Dalbert, who never told Rose off anyway. Professor Dalbert thought that her enthusiasm for school and confidence in class was something to be admired and even said that she was more excited about the subject than he was.

Max always seemed more protective over his friends than over himself. Elinor – a member of the Salazar's – had tied Max's shoelaces together when he stopped in a corridor to find something in the table of contents. It had caused him to trip and shatter his knee cap. All he did though, was make a rude hand gesture at her before Rose slapped it away and supported him to the hospital wing. But when Angelo Stewart had dared aim a bludger at Albus during their match against Hufflepuff at the end of March, Max had lit Stewarts broom tale on fire which got Max detention.

Whenever one of those brutes bothered Rose, there, Max would go berserk. She assumed that it was because she was a girl, or because he was always with her and felt that he was supposed to play big brother. But when a Salazar, or anyone else for that matter, spoke against her about being a know-it-all, headstrong or intolerant, Max would swing around at them like they had just cursed in a Church. He would reach in his robe pocket for his wand. Rose would have taken it from him before then anyway, knowing that he would over react like that. " _Ignore them._ " She would say, holding her head up high as if she didn't care, though their comments nearly always hurt. Max couldn't understand why she would act that way and not stand up for herself. In the few times that she was physically bothered, whether by a hex or a spell – like when Urban set her bag on fire, ruining one of her school books – Max wouldn't bother with the wand that Rose had yanked from his pocket to keep him from using it, but would sock them in the face right then and there. He had taken that particular incident personally, the burnt book being their Astronomy one.

Max, in first year, had gotten more detentions than James had in two. Whether for violence, disruption in class, or unpermitted wand work. People couldn't understand why Rose – the teacher's pet – could be friends with Max – the class clown and trouble maker. Scorpius and Al would sit down for meal times and tell thrilling tells about things they recently did in the common room, sneaking out at night, or discovering secret passage ways. They never seemed to be caught though. Over time, Rose's secret suspicion that Al had still been placed in the wrong house, was dwindling away. He was smart, and cunning, resourceful, and ambitious, headstrong and sneaky. And it wasn't Scorpius who was influencing this behavior on him, because if anything, Al was being the example. Rose thought about what the sorting hat had said in their argument the first day of term, ' _He is a leader who has followed all his life.'_ And Rose now agreed.

March seemed to fly by, carrying with it, the beginning of April and the Easter Holidays. The Weasleys and the Potters had decided to stay at Hogwarts for the two weeks. Having just seen their family and over hearing from Neville, that if the kids were staying over the Holiday, the Potters would take Hugo and the rest of their family to the beach so that Ron and Hermione could spend a Holiday alone again. Besides receiving chocolate eggs and candies, the castle being half empty, and the classes coming to a halt, everything else was quite normal. They spent the days swimming in the lake, relaxing in the gardens, evenings with Hagrid and Neville and Astronomy lessons from Max. Before they knew it, the castle was filling again and students were littering the hallways. Worst of all, Poppy Parkinson and Fraunk were back to command their army, so the four friends had to keep their head up and eyes open when walking through the corridors again.

The second to last Quidditch match of the season was among them, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Rose hardly remembered this match. Everything seemed to happen so quickly, over the weeks, everything that was said or done seemed to speed by in a blur, including this match. Ravenclaw was a difficult opponent. Skilled in passing and very quick, James was having difficulty keeping up. Thank Merlin's beard Rocky had caught the snitch at Gryffindor eighty to Ravenclaw one-hundred. This meant that if Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff, they would win the Quidditch cup. If Hufflepuff won, then Slytherin would win. Rose imagined that it was probably a pretty lousy situation for Hufflepuff. If you lose, you lose. If you win, Slytherin wins, a house that Hufflepuff didn't get on with well.

Illya and Rose still didn't talk, but because he had saved her life, and because he felt guilty for nearly breaking her ankle, they would weakly smile and wave in passing. Rose thought that she might have preferred their relationship when he didn't know who she was.

Rose, Scorpius and Al were messing with a pile of shiny trinkets in front of Fred during breakfast. The post arrived, and the students held out their hands to catch whatever was about to be dropped for them. Max had gone to the bathroom and his post owl dropped his newspaper in front of Rose, knowing that the addressee normally sat by her. After all the owls had retreated, whether for the owlery or back to their owners, one white owl holding a yellow envelope circled the ceiling looking for its owner.

"It's Vlad's." said Fred, peering through a ridiculous looking chunky telescope at the letter in the bird's feet.

Rose stood up and beckoned it toward her. The owl swooped down, knocking the pitcher of orange juice onto Scorpius and Calvert's laps. She reached for the letter and the bird backed up apprehensively, looking at her as a stranger.

"It's okay." She whispered. "I know Vladimir." Slowly, the owl lifted its foot to allow her to take the letter, but didn't leave and continued to look at her quizzically.

Casually, she tore it open; opening each other's mail was normal between the four of them. She backed up when unfolding the parchment to see the writing from an arms distance away. The letter was in Norwegian. At first she thought it was a letter from his dad who communicated in this language. But then she recognized the handwriting not as his own. Who else did Max know who spoke in this tongue? But she supposed it was none of her business.

"That word means 'if'." Said Al pointing at a random word on the paper. "That's all I can read."

"Anything good?" Max asked taking the seat across from her and grabbing a muffin. The owl took one look at him and – seemingly contented – took off from the upper window, ruffling Al's hair with its vast wing.

"You got a letter." She responded, handing it to him.

"From dad?" he asked scanning it.

"No. It's not his handwriting."

Max stopped chewing, and froze all except for his eyes which were widening as they traveled down the paper. Color suddenly drained from his face turning it white and washed.

"Max?" she asked worriedly, glancing at Al and Scor who both shrugged confusedly.

She watched his eyes jump back to the top of the page several times as he remained frozen, half a muffin still in his mouth. Screw 'none of her business'.

"Max, let me see!" she stood up to take the letter as though she could all of the sudden could read Norwegian.

Max stood up from the table suddenly, and through his arm out in front of himself to keep her from grabbing it. He opened his mouth at Rose, Al, and Scor as his eyes became very bright. He gasped, then burst from the hall.

A moment passed while the three of them stared dumbstruck after Max.

"Well," said Scorpius. "he's struck my interest." He threw his legs over the bench and tore after him. Al grinned and ran as well, Rose soon following, hoping that whatever the problem was, would be resolved before class; they had Charms first.

The three of them followed Max's echoing footsteps down the corridors and Al and Scor stopped glumly as Max burst through the Gryffindor portrait hole. Rose caught it before it closed and slammed it behind her.

"What's your hurry?" Rose heard the fat lady ask as she shut the opening behind her and ran through the deserted common room and up the, now familiar, boy's staircase.

She found him hurriedly reaching under his bed for something.

"Max?" she found herself whispering.

"Shhhh!" he hushed back. When he emerged from under his mattress, he was holding a second piece of very old paper. He was glancing back and forth between the very old parchment, and the new, with a look of terror on his face.

"She found me…" he gasped in a tone hardly audible.

"Who?"

"Get out." He mumbled.

"What?"

"Get out, right now."

"No, you're obviously- hey!"

He had stood up and struggled to push her from the room as she fought against him.

"Max!" she exclaimed. "What are you-! This is ridiculous!"

"Just, please, for a moment."

"No!"

"Wait! Just wait, here!" and he slammed the door in her face.

Perplexed and angry, she waited with her red ear to the door. A series of bangs were coming from inside the room, muffled shouts, then silence. Whether he was throwing stuff around, setting off fireworks, or singing metal while playing a ten string electric in a hard band, she didn't know; though she found that last one to be unlikely. She jumped backward in fright as he swung the door open abruptly. His hair was messed up and his eyes were a gold color, which she knew as the color of fear, and his chest was heaving. She opened her mouth to say, she didn't know yet. She could ask what made him so scared, or what the banging was, what was written on the letter or who wrote it, or perhaps tell him that they were late for Charms. She didn't get to ask any because he grabbed her by the arm – as if she wasn't going to follow anyway – and walked swiftly to the portrait hole murmuring, " _Later_."

"Oh come on!" she heard someone say from the other side of the fat lady as they neared the exit. "Just a hint?"

They scrambled through to find Scorpius and Al on the other side, apparently having just been begging the fat lady for the password.

"We're late for class." Said Al as if Rose didn't already know.

Max grabbed Scorpius' arm – him being the closest – and drug them both down the corridor with a sense of reason Rose couldn't detect. Al trotted behind them, trying to ask Rose what was going on, but she simply shrugged bewilderedly. Max spun them all into an empty classroom that Rose passed everyday but had never entered. The few tables were dusty and classroom chairs were stacked across the walls. Dull gray light shone through the dirty windows illuminating the dusty floor and many statues or columns stood randomly throughout the room.

Max let go of them and threw both letters on what looked like a teachers table and turned toward them, his eyes now a striking gold with red speckles.

"She found me." He said finally.

"Who did?" Rose asked.

"Belladonna Drury…"

A moment passed.

"You mean the chick who – you know – kidnapped your brother?" Scorpius questioned.

"Why would she be looking for you?" Rose asked desperately, the fact that they had already missed the first ten minutes of Charms momentarily forgotten. "She's not going to try'n kidnap you too, is she?"

Max shook his head, not the kind that says 'no' but one that has no idea at all.

"What's the second letter for?" Al asked.

"I was comparing the handwriting." He said. "To see if it was really from her."

"What does the note say?" Rose asked jumping at it the second one.

The second letter wasn't a letter at all, but a page torn from what looked to be a very old book. On the page were notes written in English, things like, 'No signs', 'Won't give', 'Treatment unsuccessful', and 'finally'. But she recognized this handwriting as the same swirly one on the new letter. Max sat in the chair behind the teachers table and put his head in his hands. Then slowly pushed the newer letter across the table toward them.

Rose crossed her arms. "We can't read that, remember?"

With what looked like a lot of effort, he picked it up again and opened his mouth to read, but stopped a moment to look up at them. "I'm only sharing this with you because, well because you're my best friends and you can help me with this. It's, it is kind of a really big deal." He jerked the paper straight again and read,

" _Vladimir,_

 _We haven't spoken in four years, but I would be wrong in thinking that you've forgotten about me. I won't waste space or time with hellos, I simply have a business transaction to discuss with you. You have something I want very badly, and I, for you. I will take from you, what I want, and I, in exchange, will set your brother free. Sound fair? I want you to meet me at your house, you know which one I mean, don't bring anything, or anyone. If anybody besides yourself arrives, I will know, and I will kill them; you know I will. Consider this ransom. I expect you between now and before the end of term. If you do not arrive between that time, I will kill your brother, and again, you know I will. See you soon."_

He dropped the letter with shaking hands and looked desperately at them. What could she say? Rose didn't have to find out because Al spoke up first.

"Call the Ministry!" he exclaimed. "The Auror office! They'll barge in, stun Belladonna and take your brother!"

"But how do you know she doesn't have Will in a safe house or prison?" Scorpius suggested.

"They'll use veritaserum!" said Rose. "That'll make her tell the truth and she'll be forced to give the location of him!"

"She's immune to veritaserum." Said Max wearily, holding his hair.

"They'll find another way!" said Al. "They'll torture her if they have to! The Ministry is the safest bet!"

All three of them turned around shocked to be hearing Max laugh. But it wasn't a pleasant, light laugh, it was a cold, disbelieving one.

"You guys have no idea." He said.

"You're looking at us as if we should." Said Scorpius. "All we know is what you just read us, and what you said in the Library."

"Belladonna won't be easily caught." Said Max angrily. "She had avoided capture for four years! She's right about knowing if anyone else arrives besides myself. And she's right in saying that she'll kill them, before they can realize where they are probably. She's a monster, a murderer, a merciless, careless, nasty, blood thirsty piece of scum!"

"Call the Ministry!" Al exclaimed.

"I can't!"

"The Ministry is so careless with harm that they'll probably kill Will in the wand fire against Belladonne!" said Scorpius.

"Thank you!"

Rose listened to the arguing, not joining in herself. She was thinking hard and coming to a very unpleasant probability.

"Are you nuts! You're the one who just said that she'll probably have him hidden!" said Al.

"That's just a theory!"

"Yeah! What if she kills Will if she detects anyone else on the property?"

"What else would you suggest then? If you're not going to call the professionals, then what in the world do you think four eleven-year old's with one year of magic education can do, hmm?"

"It won't be four eleven-year old's!"

"Who else then?"

"Nobody! It would only be one!"

"…You're not thinking about actually paying the ransom?" Rose asked finally, slowly and quietly. But this statement stopped the arguing and caused everyone to turn toward her, then toward Max.

"Of course not!" Scorpius snorted. "He's not _that_ stupid!"

Max didn't say anything. Scorpius' sneer slowly disappeared, which was good, it didn't suit him.

"You're not. Right?" he asked.

"What else can I do?"

"CALL THE MINISTRY!" said Al throwing his hands into the air in exasperation. "Obviously," he said slowly. "she said she wants something from you, and for you not to bring anything. So that means she wants some natural resource! Whether it's your oxygen, heart, life source, blood, organs, some kind of metamorphmagus crap! And did you notice that she said she'll 'let Will go free'? Not, 'give him to you'? That insinuates that she doesn't expect you to leave! If you go, you'll be committing suicide!"

Rose stared at him for a moment, surprised and impressed by his attention to detail.

"You're over thinking it." Said Scorpius.

"Scor, I am _Not_ having this conversation with you again. I think that this is the right time to over think. We can't take any steps before fully understanding _everything_."

"You can't read her mind," said Scorpius. "you don't know for sure if that's what she meant."

"We know nothing for sure right now!"

"We know that Belladonna wants something that Max has, will release his brother if he goes to her and gives it up."

"If this chick is so bad, then how do we know if she'll just lie or not? She says that she'll give Will over, but wouldn't it be easier to say that and keep him anyway?"

"Why would she need him? Why did she need him in the first place?"

Rose and Max weren't listening. They were having their own conversation using only their eyes. He was going to try, she could tell. He was going to do exactly what Belladonna had proposed. It was stupid, but he was scared. Scared people are more prone to do stupid things. But he was also brave, bravery mixed with fear was a dangerous thing. Rose walked over and hugged Max tightly and found herself crying on his shirt though she wasn't sad, as if she was crying his absent tears.

"Sure," Al shrugged in disbelief. "like a girl to think she can solve an issue like this by _hugging_."

Rose reached out and pulled her cousin in by his tie. Albus rolled his eyes and grabbed Scorpius by the arm to join.

They sat on the desk through their second class, discussing their options which – they were discomforted to find – were very few.

"The Ministry." Said Al.

"Write your dad." Said Scorpius.

"Don't go." Said Rose.

"She'll kill them. She'll kill him. She wants me." Max would say.

"So what are we going to do?" Rose asked.

Max was softly banging his head against the desk.

"I told you, that only causes brain damage." Said Rose pushing him upright.

"I told you again and again what we have to do." He said.

"No." said Al. "You told us what _you_ were going to do, but considering that it is a stupid plan, we debunked it."

"I told you," said Max. "I go, and you guys let me."

"Augh!" said Scorpius falling back against the wall. "Will you drop that? You already know we'd never let you."

"Why?"

" _Why_?" snorted Scor. "Let me think… You want to go to a lunatic woman's house, alone, unprotected, to give her something that you most likely need to survive, and to, most likely, never return, in one piece anyway. Your right, I see no reason that you shouldn't go. This is a great idea. You go on ahead; I'll be buying your casket."

"I could do without the sarcasm." Said Max.

"Sarcastic? Me? Never!"

The classroom door burst open and Fred nearly fell through, out of breath and gasping. The door swung open again and James ran through, closing it behind him.

"You guys better," Fred gasped with his hands on his knees. "been looking all over. You- need to-"

"Run!" said James clutching a stitch in his chest. "Filtch!"

The four of them didn't need to hear anything else. They sprinted toward the door, but Fred caught them, spun them around, and pointed to a door concealed behind a large mirror. They tore in that direction, Max shoving the papers into his pocket. Scorpius tripped over a large pile of blankets and what looked to be a sleeping bag behind the mirror as the others flung open the door. They had missed two classes, one of them being Transfiguration, for the Gryffindors at least. For the first time, Rose wasn't thinking at all about school. She should have remembered and known they'd get in trouble.

The door led them through a tunnel to emerge into a corridor that they had never seen before. They stopped to catch their breath and heard the familiar, very unpleasant, blundering footsteps of Filtch, about to turn down their corridor.

"Quickly, quickly!" said Al steering them all into a random door to their left. This door however, was not random. It led them into what appeared to be Professor Donima's – not office – but bedroom.

Unfortunately for them, the Professor was present at the time and they seemed to have barged in on a very inconvenient moment. That moment being when she was changing from her teachers robes to something, well, something more comfortable.

"OH DEAR GOD!" Max exclaimed covering his eyes the same time as Al and Scorpius, Scorpius attempting to head out with his eyes closed, unaware that the door had closed behind him and hitting it, falling to the floor.

"Detention!" Donima screeched, wrapping herself in a long robe. "Detention for all of you!"

"Is this not punishment enough?" Al asked muffled through his hands.

They ended up having to scrub the bathrooms later in the week. Professor Dalbert escorted them there.

"So you walked in on Professor Donima changing?" he had asked them. "And that wasn't punishment enough?"

This had made Max laugh for the first time since the letter. He had agreed to not rush, to think about other options. That was the best they could do for the time being.


	21. Exams

**T** he days became warm and sunny. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, giant squid waving its tentacles from the lakes surface, also enjoying the weather. The best Rose Granger-Weasley could do to soak up the sun though, was to sit by the window while doing her homework. She would sit on the window seal with one leg swinging over the outside castle wall, a quill in her hair, and a book in her face. Exams were two weeks away and every student was depressed to have to miss the gorgeous weather. A few people had thought to be geniuses because they had taken their books outside to study and enjoy the weather at the same time. The heat had made them fall asleep and they were now either in the hospital wing for server sunburn treatment, or walking around the castle as if they had a bad diaper rash.

Though the subject was no longer deeply discussed, Max's ransom letter still hovered above them in every class and every conversation. She had stopped him from leaving twice now and was scared to death that she was going to wake up and find that he had left, never to be seen again. She had tried to make him, not forget, but distract him by piling pile after pile of homework and studying on him. And to her surprise, he studied, and he did every bit of homework she had given him; as if he was trying to distract himself too.

Classes were where she could do very little for him. He no longer hummed light heartedly, a constant tapping of his foot replaced the music. He would tap during meals, classes, homework, and even until he fell asleep, which was most commonly on the sofa in the common room. Al and Scorpius even found time to worry about the ransom though buried in work maybe more so than Max was. Al hadn't let go of his Ministry idea and Scorpius was still arguing for him to drop it.

Days were spent before exams in Professor Neville's greenhouse taking extra advise and tips, make up lessons and repeats. They were surprised the first day they were scheduled to meet in the greenhouse, to find half their class there as well. Everyone really like Longottom and even some of those who didn't need extra tutoring, were there to listen to a few of his short stories about his last few years at Hogwarts when he had fought against Voldemort.

"Al, tell you what." Neville said as the students were filing out. "You bring your Umple shrub and I'll examine it. If it is in proper condition; I will give you extra points."

"I helped care for it!" said Scorpius quickly.

"You did not!" Al protested.

"Yeah, remember, you told me to feed it one time and I did!"

"You through food at it then tore off a vine when it wrapped your arm."

They were all teased now for having walked in on Professor Donima naked. "SHE WASN'T COMPLETELY NAKED!" Scorpius would shout. Fred teased them the worst though. "I run all this way looking for you guys to keep you from getting into trouble and you go and do to yourself something that will haunt you for the rest of your life!"

The whole school turned up for the final match against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. This match would decide who wins the Quidditch cup. Al and Scor turned up dressed in yellow and black with crossed fingers.

"Unbiased, huh?" Rose smiled.

"We might win, Rosie!" said Al biting his lip until it was red.

"I doubt it." She rolled her eyes, propping her head up on her elbows to watch.

After the game commenced, her head shifted from her hands to stretch out for a closer look. Then to peer above the cheering crowd, then to bobbing up and down with the rest of yellow and black supporters, cheering. Hufflepuff wasn't going down as hard as she thought they would. They were putting up quite a fight. Ninety to seventy! Ninety to eighty! One-hundred-ten to one-hundred! One-ten to one-ten!

Rose had grabbed the Hufflepuff scarf from around Scorpius' neck and waved it in the air. Al's lip was chapped and Max's purple eyes were wide and his yellow hair clinched in his fists. ("She caught the snitch! She caught the snitch!" the commentators sang. "Hufflepuff wins!)

The Hufflepuff and Slytherin supporters screamed with delight. Slytherin team ran out onto the pitch and embraces the Hufflepuff team, hugging and thanking them. All except Stewart who looked as though this was behavior of such to be punishable. Professor Kemp strode out with Madam Hooch who was holding a large, shiny, silver cup. She presented it to them mumbling words that Rose couldn't hear. The Slytherin team grinned and cheered for a moment until Keith did something that no Quidditch captain had ever done in history. He took the beautiful cup, the magical, prize won, trophy, and snapped off one of the glossy handles. There was a hush around the entire stadium as everyone stared, shocked and horrified at what he had just done. Silently, Keith strode across the pitch, his footsteps being heard through the stiff air. And he handed the sliver handle to the Hufflepuff team grinning, and shook hands with the Hufflepuff captain.

An eruption of noise tore through the silence as everyone roared their approval. Rose even screamed herself horse and the Hufflepuff team cheered and clapped, punching that silver handle into the air as if the entire cup was theirs. This tiny piece of metal was the most of a Quidditch cup Hufflepuff had gotten in a century. The annual winning team picture was snapped, not of just the Slytherins, but of a rare, one of a kind, never seen before shot of both winning teams together. Slytherin holding most of a whole Quidditch cup, and Hufflepuff smiling with the handle.

Rose was amused to find next morning, not only the picture in the Quidditch case, but half a cup, and on a pedestal, the handle.

"It's going to be sad." Said Rose sitting in an oak tree in the gardens a week before exams. "We're all leaving in less than a month and won't see each other for an entire summer. We won't see Yoman, or Professor Dalbert, or Professor Kemp,"

"Or Professor Longbottom." Scorpius joined in.

"We'll see Neville." Said Al. "Rosie and I. You won't."

"This may be our last time sitting in this tree for the whole summer. I doubt we'll have time to come back later." Said Rose. "You are all coming back next semester right?"

"I am." Said Scorpius.

"Of course we are." Said Al.

They looked over at Max who was trying to balance two acorns on top of each other. "Maybe." He said not looking up from his task. "Dad and I are always moving. I hope so."

"I never asked what happened with Bailey." Said Al.

The acorn tower fell and Max clinched his fists.

"They're still engaged." He said gruffly.

"I still think you should write to your dad about Will." Said Scor.

Max threw the acorns from the tree looking angry. When they talked about Belladonna, he would become gruff and serious, but when Will was mentioned he'd become angry. Rose supposed that when he was reminded of his brother, he was also reminded that his friends weren't allowing him to go, each day passing, was a day that Will could be free.

"There is no in between with him." Said Max. "He either won't care, or he'll care enough to try to talk her out of the ransom and get himself killed."

Max was chewing on the end of his quill like he always did when thinking hard.

"Look whose here." Scorpius leaned over to whisper.

Max looked up to see Danielle stride over and plop herself on the other side of the tree they were leaning against and pull out a book.

"Augh, not now." Max wined.

"You don't have to live with her." Rose whispered.

They ended up moving to the lake which was a bad idea. Though the water kept their feet cool, all but Rose got distracted and began skipping stones. She wished she could join them. She had the ability of course, but there was always so much work to do. Rose commonly had a battle with herself, something like the angles on your shoulder. Should I study? Or should I join my friends? They look like they're having so much fun. But I want good marks. They're begging me to join them. But exams are in three days! This happened often and her right angle nearly always won. She had nightmares occasionally, that her friends found her boring and decided to leave her for someone more fun. Her mind wasn't open enough to allow super creative dreams anyway.

Rose woke at four in the morning, not because she wanted to, but because exams started that day and she couldn't get herself back to sleep. She headed downstairs to the deserted common room, holding a school book and parchment. Rose spent the rest of the morning with a cup of tea studying for History of Magic because she thought that if anything, that would get her to sleep, but the book itself was interesting.

"Won't you stop that?" said Max as they walked toward their first exam for Potions. Rose was walking stiffly onward with an armful of books pressed to her chest. "You'll do fine, you've done more studying, more revising than any of us."

"They're gonna lay down a sheet of parchment and I'm not going to know any of the answers. I've forgotten everything, Max." She said.

"Just watch Al, he'll give you tips if you need them."

"I'm not cheating." She said severely.

"Then don't complain if you fail."

Professor Killpii strode around the room with a raised eyebrow, watching everyone. The exam wasn't difficult at all. Not only did Rose remember exactly how to brew a laughing draft, but every time someone was about to put the wrong ingredient into their cauldron, or had forgotten to do something, Professor Killpii would make an exasperated 'tut' with his tongue. Nobody thought that he meant to or that he realized, but nobody was about to stop him.

Al came trotting beside them on the way out to the greenhouses, holding a large potted plant with beautiful silver, crescent shaped leaves. Scorpius was following behind looking glum. The two boys had been separated in class, meaning Al couldn't help Scor with his potion and Scorpius, though nothing blew up, defiantly wasn't going to get tops marks for his potion.

"That's alright, bud." Said Neville to Scorpius during their Herbology, half written, half practical exam. "I was abysmal in potions, believe me. And look where I am now! Don't worry, there'll always be that one class."

Al did get extra points for his perfect shrub and Rose had fun catching the spitting Cilly seeds which would have been impossible to catch if you didn't know the pattern. Max didn't know the pattern.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was the most fun though. Professor Dalbert had picked a series of spells, and had the kids shoot them at dummies near the end of the room. There was something so satisfying about the feeling of that much power shooting from your wand tip and knowing that you made it happen. Max and Rose preformed everything perfectly.

Transfiguration was terrible, not for her, but for Max. They had a long work sheet that they filled out with special 'no cheating' quills. Professor Donima would stride back and forth across the room, waiting for the time to run out. Max had his head down the whole time and kept asking Rose how much time they had left, not daring to look at the hourglass right beside Donima. He hadn't looked at her straight on since their incident and the Professor would glare and pull her robes tight around herself when seeing them. They then had to turn a pin cushion to a tiny pumpkin. Points were given for how fresh the pumpkin was, and taken away if it was still full of cotton. Max still had needles sticking from his that he tried to remove before she made it to their table.

In Charms, they had to make a bird sing the school song. And finally in History of Magic, Rose was relieved to find, that she knew every answer. They class burst from the doors and screamed and cheered, all ecstatic to be done. Fireworks were set off and papers were thrown around. Rose slipped away, not wanting to be in that group if a teacher walked out on them.

The four friends stretched themselves out by the lake to bask in the sun. School was over. No more exams. No more classes. No more homework. No more studying.

"We only have one week left." Said Scor. "One week, and we're back home."

To Rose, it was a bitter sweet thought.

"Yeah… one week." She heard Max mumble beside her, more to himself than anyone else. To her, one week meant home, to him, one week meant the death of his brother.

Rose woke to Danielle's usual snoring and not being able to get to sleep, had tried to start homework but remembered that she didn't have any. She was actually quite depressed about school being over, for a whole week she wouldn't know what to do with herself. She made her way down to the common room to find Max sitting on the couch way to early. She stopped to watch him before entering. He was rocking back and forth slightly on the worn sofa cushions as if frantic. In his hands she saw the ransom letter and something hard gripped her stomach, he was going to try… twice she saw him stand up, change his mind, and sit back down. Rose couldn't imagine what tortured thoughts were whirling in his head right now. She had almost walked over to him and told him off for considering going, but then she would think about if it were Hugo. She realized that if it were her, her brother, her life, she would have left the day she had received the letter. She sunk down to the steps, to watch, hoping that he wouldn't find her because the amount of time she had been watching him already, would be considered creepy. She would have gone back to bed, but she couldn't risk letting him leave. She half considered offering to go with him if he refused to listen, but then she would think about explosion and it would scare her to stay.

"Max?" Rose turned to see Calvert stagger from the tiny common room bathroom looking dazed and exhausted.

"Calvert?" Max said in surprise. Behind his back was the letter that was shaking in his hands. "What are you doing down here?"

"Fell to sleep." he yawned.

"In the bathroom?"

"Don't judge me, it's been a long day. Hey, are you alright?"

"Yes." Said Max. Rose froze, he lied. He- he actually, undeniably lied. If he was anything, it was _not_ okay. She blinked the thought away and watched confusedly as he doubled with what sounded like a painful grunt. Calvert staggered back looking worried.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"I don't feel well." Max coughed. "Go!"

"Are you sure? Cause you don't look very-"

"I said Go, Elias!" Max half shouted.

"Fine, alright, I'll go! Geez." Rose hurried up into the girl's staircase to avoid Calvert stumbling across her. He was muttering something like, " _Lunatic._ " As he passed, unaware that Rose was but two feet from him.

She tip-toed down the staircase and peered pass the wall to see Max crouched down on the floor holding his head. _What the heck just happened?_ He lied, then he doubled over in pain. Was he _that_ conflicted when he lied? Did it physically hurt?

He sat on the floor for a little bit thinking. She knew it was time to hide again when she saw him punch the floor, shove the letter into his pocket and start toward where she was.

Rose laid awake in bed after that. Moonlight was shining through the window next to her, illuminating her thumbs that were tapping that back of her folded hands. Was she wrong in making him stay here? To keep him from going? He wasn't going to tell a teacher or the Ministry. Should she? What happened if her Al and Scor succeeded in preventing him from paying the ransom? Would Will really die? And if he did, would his blood be on their hands? Max would certainly not want to be her friend anymore. The thought made her sick. But if he did go, he would most certainly die. Belladonna was a Drury, ruthless. And as far as Rose knew, she had no emotional connection to the boys, or Max at least; she had been with Will for four years. She most likely wouldn't hesitate to kill Max. Rose grabbed her hair in frustration and turned over on her pillow. This was hopeless. If it wasn't for that letter, that stupid letter; the year would have passed as a happy memory of moments. It would have been different if they had gotten it earlier, they would have had more time to consider their options. This whole thing was completely unexpected. She thought for a moment in the dark about how the end of the year would have turned out if she hadn't had met or made friends with Max. She certainly wouldn't be a part of this, she would be happy and celebratory with all the rest of the school. Would Max have left already? Would there be a rumor of a kid disappearing? Would she read in the paper over the summer of a child named Vladimir D'artagnan Everard, a Gryffindor Hogwarts student's body discovered in an abandoned house in Norway? Would she have strained her brain to see if she remembered a boy named Vladimir; his name would have been Darren all year if she hadn't have met him anyway. Would she have shrugged the boy's death away and get back to her oatmeal?

Why did the evil Belladonna Drury kidnap Will? What did she need with him? And why was she all of the sudden interested in Max? What in the world did he have that she couldn't get from anyone else? It wasn't like he overheard personal information because he would have told them already… probably. Rose wished for a moment that, that was the case, all Belladonna would have to do, would be to erase his memory of that and be done with it. And what in the world was so special about Max? He was a metamorphmagus who can't lie, and can heal five times faster than the average human. Maybe that's what Belladonna wanted, his healing powers! She hoped that wasn't the case, any way to extract blood cells by magic would likely be painful or fatal. These weren't her problems to solve per say, but they were her best friend's, so she supposed that made them hers too. She supposed she was like her parents before her, being pulled into a battle that was not her own because she was too closely involved with the owner. This wasn't her battle, but she was going to fight with him. By 'fight' she of course meant use logic and reason to figure things out rationally. She didn't see how she could do take part in this physically. Belladonna would kill her, besides, Max would stun Rose before he let her come along. She looked at her glowing watch to see that it was four in the morning. She rolled back over and curled into a ball. _Six days before someone dies_. She thought.


	22. A Successful Escape

**R** ose had tried her best to act cheery. Max's apparent depression was heavily weighing on her. While everyone else was splashing around with the giant squid, Rose, Max, Scorpius and Al were standing under the one cloudy area on the ground, or so it seemed. They had a little rain cloud above them wherever they went. Four days left.

Rose had suppressed her curiosity on what she had seen the other night, when Max had lied. She was dying to ask, but thought it would be best not to. She was really quite astounded about how he was taking this. If it were her problem, she would be biting the heads off of anyone who tried to talk to her. But Max was only a bit edgy. He didn't snap, or yell, or resort to violence. For being the naughty kid in class, he was simply… quiet. He would rarely start up a conversation, and when he did, it wouldn't last long. It seemed that he was always lost in thought. This abrupt change from magnetic Max, mouthy Max, to mournful and silent Max, was almost worse than if he yelled. Rose wanted her best friend back the way he was. But she felt selfish when missing the old him, knowing that he's probably silent to keep from crying. Though this change had made her angry, she wished it hadn't. She felt as though he was being unproductive and stupid. He thought that the only way to resolve this, would be to pay the ransom. He wasn't taking a logical look at things, at the circumstance. Rose highly doubted that Belladonna would release Will after she was finished with Max.

"Max?" she asked gingerly while mending a hole in his Weasley jumper.

"Hmm?"

"You haven't spoken in almost four hours."

"I just did."

"'Hmm' aren't words." She said.

He didn't respond. He was watching Al and Scorpius by the lake skipping stones. Rose knew that Max knew that the two boys were talking about him.

"Max, please say something!" she said desperately.

"An evil witch wants to extract something from me, my brother's about to die, and I haven't eaten in almost forty-eight hours." He said glumly.

Rose felt herself becoming angry.

"I'm sick of this!" she exclaimed standing up, his jumper clinched in her fist. "The three of us are trying to keep you from getting killed! I haven't heard your normal voice in a full week and we're trying to give you options that will ensure that both you and your brother survive but you won't have it!"

"She'll kill whoever you want me to send." He said for the millionth time.

"Augh!" she growled in frustration, and threw his jumper onto the grass, storming toward the castle.

"Oi!" he called. "What are you trying to do? Be careful!"

She turned slightly to see him grab his sweater and begin pulling grass from the yarn. She felt something jump for a moment in hearing his voice again. Whatever had jumped, deflated again seeing him pull the jumper to his chest and lean back against the tree trunk lazily. She clinched her fist and turned back toward him.

"If you're not going inform a teacher about what's going on, then I will!" she said scowling.

"Yeah?" said Max standing up, scowling as well.

"Yeah! I don't want you or Will to die, and the only way to ensure that you both live, is if experienced wizards go, not an eleven-year-old!"

"Well, have fun doing that now!" he said gritting his teeth frighteningly. He grabbed her wrist and held it between them. "It's eight! Teachers have now retired to the lounge or bed."

"Then I'll stay up to find them." She said.

"No you won't, because I'm not coming and you hate being alone!"

Rose scowled more darkly, he struck a genuine fear of hers.

She glanced over at Hagrid's hut to see the absence of the flickering fire from his windows and knew that he wasn't home.

"I never said I'd do it tonight!"

The rest of the students were now heading up toward the castle to avoid being locked out. Max turned and walked off with the crowd as Scorpius and Al joined Rose who was scowling after him.

"Another fight?" said Al.

"He's going to make a brake for it tonight." She huffed.

"Then convince him not to." Said Scor.

"He's done listening. I'll stay up and stun him if he tries to leave."

"You do realize," said Al slowly. "that if you do this, and his brother does die, Max will never speak to you again."

Rose didn't respond. She knew that this was going to be the case but didn't want to admit it.

"If it means he lives, it'll be worth it."

"Well then," Scorpius breathed, now pulling the other two up to the castle. "Keep the hand mirror with you, if he tries to leave, just buzz me and Al, we'll head straight up."

"I'm telling a teacher in the morning." She said.

"Did you tell him that?" Al asked.

"Sure." She shrugged.

"No, Rosie!" Albus rolled his eyes. "That's why he'll make a break for it tonight, he thinks his time's up! You can't tell him things like that!"

"Al, don't pester me, I'm not in the mood."

Rose split from Scor and Al at the marble staircase of the entrance hall and found Max reading, _Magical Places, a muggle's guide_ , on the sofa in the crowded common room. His hair had been brown for the past week, so she had to see his face to know it was him. She sat on the cushion beside him and opened someone else's copy of, _The Standard Book of Spells, grade 1,_ and pretended to read. She was determined to stay up all night with wand in hand, she was not going to let Max kill himself. She had overheard him talking to the fat frier ghost a week back, who accidentally, with a little help from Max, told him that only Professor Dalbert's and Professor Kemp's offices are connected to the floo network all of the time. Max had been asking about what would happen if someone knew, and how they would break into the school.

"Not to worry young lad!" chuckled the ghost. "One doesn't just step into a fire and say 'Hogwarts'! There are ways one must do it! Secret words for the castle! Don't freight, son! No one's going to harm us!"

"But what if someone wants to leave the castle, to make a break for it?" Max asked, and Rose, who had been passing after dinner and had stopped to listen from behind the statue of Vector the Vulnerable, knew that he wasn't really worried, but just wanted to assess his option of escape.

"Nobody knows which fires are connected! And they'll have a job getting into Kemp's office! As for Dalbert, I think we have a D.A.D.A teacher who is up to stopping any mad man."

"Thank you frier." Said Max beaming. "I feel a lot safer."

"You don't have to dog guard me." Said Max not looking up.

"Are you planning on leaving?" she asked, still staring at the book which she had already read.

"I don't plan on anything." He responded. "You do realize that my brother will die."

"Not when the authorities arrive."

They didn't speak for a long while, the other Gryffindors were still celebrating the end of school and after the firecrackers were lit and the butterbeer drained, students started filing off to bed, all perfectly cheerful, all completely unaware that in less than four days, a child would die.

Rose looked at her watch, it was one in the morning and the common room was completely deserted. Her eyelids began to droop and the words scrambled on the page. She wondered if Max felt the same. She glanced over to see him slumped over on the arm of the sofa, fast asleep.

"I don't want you to die." She whispered, he didn't stir. "I don't want Will to die either." She choked for a moment. "I don't know what to do." A tear rolled down her face and she quickly wiped it away as if someone were watching. "There is no way to win, Maddox. Either you go, and be murdered, don't go and Will dies, and you won't be my friend either. That's why I _have_ to tell a teacher. It's the only way out of this with the slimmest possibility that you both will live." She dropped the book and slumped back against his shoulder. "These are not the kind of problems that we're supposed to have at our age. We're supposed to worry about exams and school, Quidditch matches and what we're gonna do over the summer. Not whether we're gonna see next summer. I'm sorry that this happened to you, it's not fair. Why couldn't Poppy have a kidnapped brother and pay the ransom? Well, I suppose it wouldn't make much of a difference for her, she'll save her own life in a heartbeat. Ugh, why do you have to be so nice?" she hit his on the arm before slouching back down. "You're not going to talk to me next year are you? You're either gonna hate me, or be dead. I'm going to miss your obsessive Astronomy antics. I complained about them a lot, but you did help me get by; I'm not a fan of Astronomy. Thanks for helping me with homework during Quidditch by the way. I don't remember if I had thanked you or not. It's not easy being my friend, before you, I really didn't have any. Thank you for putting up with me, I can be a little overbearing, so I've been told. You're not going to remember any of this are you? I think not. Good thing too, I doubt I would have admitted any of this if you were awake. I'm stubborn. You are asleep aren't you? Is it weird that I'm talking to you right now? I mean it's not the first time I've talked to you when you were asleep. I've done it before, not knowing that you had fallen asleep though. I'm just gonna," she laid down beside him and held onto his sleeve. "So I'll know if you try to get up. Sorry in advance if I have to stun you. Just wait until tomorrow, we'll see what happens then."

She closed her eyes and every five minutes or so, would clinch her fist to be sure that the fabric of his sleeve was still safely there.

Rose was awoken from her light sleep by the sound of crinkling paper and a couple small tugs on the fabric in her hand. She opened her eyes to small slits and saw the silhouette of a boy tucking a wand into his side pocket. She lifted her head to see that she was holding onto an unoccupied robe. Max had apparently slipped out of it and was now gearing up to make a run for it. Rose almost jumped from the couch and reached for her wand in her robe pocket, but it wasn't there.

"I took it." Said Max spinning around to face her. He looked frightened but stood tall pretending not to be. "It's in my common room, at the bottom of Micah's supply box.

"Why would you tell me that?" she said, now worried, how on earth was she going to stop him without a wand?

"Because I'll be gone by the time you can retrieve it." He said hurriedly and out of breath. He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to change his mind because she turned and bolted to the portrait hole.

Rose swept her hand across the face of the silver hand mirror on the table next to her reflecting the rays of moonlight, and ran after him. She may not have a wand, but she had two terms worth of Quidditch muscle; she would knock him out if she had to.

"Where to you two think you're going?" called the fat lady from behind them. "We're so close to the end of term! Don't ruin this for Gryffindor!"

Max had a head start, but Rose was gaining on him. Their footsteps made a loud slapping noise against the stone floor and it was only a matter of time until Filch, or one of his six grandcats caught them. It looked as if Max were heading to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the only other room with floo.

"Max!" she called. Rose reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his white button up shirt around the third or fourth floor and caused him to make a choking noise.

Max spun around and pointed his wand at her with shaking hands. She let go of his collar and backed up quickly, thinking wildly about what he had done too Poppy and whether he was going to do the same to her.

"Rose…" said Max warningly, but he didn't sound scary at all. His voice was shaking and his wand hand was faulty. "Please, I don't want to hurt you."

"Then don't!" she said, eyeing his wand through the dull light from the window beside them and wondered if he even dared. "Come back… let a teacher take care of it, not you. Please Max"

Max looked furiously from her, to an entrancingly carved oak cupboard, and back to her. He tucked his wand away and grabbed Rose by her arms, and began shoving her toward the cupboard.

"What are you doing!" she fought.

"Just… stop fighting… get in the cupboard!" he wrestled her.

"No!"

She could try to hit him of course, but even if she freed her arms from his grip, she couldn't bring herself to get her fist that close to his face.

"Will. You. Stop. Fighting!" he struggled. "I'm going, and I can't have you try'n stop me!"

A medium volume fight took place where Rose kicked and whaled her arms around. Max flung open the cupboard and lifted her onto the bottom shelf with a surprising amount of strength. And slammed the door as she continued to pound on it. He said an incantation and she heard a loud _click_ , and she peaked through the crack of the door as Max back up and looked at her.

"I'm sorry." He said. "But this is more important." And he sprinted away.

….

"DID YOU JUST LOCK ME IN A CUPBOARD, EVERARD?!" she screamed.

She banging on the door to see if she could perhaps knock it down, but was interrupted by a loud cackling growing closer.

" _Someone's breaking rules! Let me see! Let me see!_ " Peeves sang.

"Oooo!" he laughed when stopping in midair before her and doing a summersault. "Who do we have here?" he pressed his devilish little eye against the crack in the door to see Rose leaning against the back wall, scowling with her arms crossed. "A Granger-Weasley!" he said in mock shock. "Saintly smart?" he laughed, rolling over again.

"Peeves, will you just let me out?" she asked, though thinking that she knew the answer.

"Let you out!?" he gasped. "Why would I do that?"

Rose heard slapping stomps on the stone floor growing closer.

"Filch? Oooo, you'll be in so much trouble!" Peeves grabbed his stomach and laughed.

But it wasn't Filch, turning the corner, she saw that the footsteps belonged to Scorpius and Al. She had completely forgotten that she had buzzed them on her mirror.

"Scor! Al!" she called hopefully.

"Rose?" said Al growing close to the cupboard. "Why are you in a cupboard?"

"Max did it, now let me out!"

Peeves sat cross-legged in the air with his round little head on his hands to watch.

"Alohomora!" Al called, pointing his wand at the lock. But it didn't budge. "Alohomora!" he called again. Nothing.

"He used the proclock charm." Said Scorpius, jiggling the lock. "Only the person who cast the charm can unlock it again."

"Who taught him that?" said Rose angrily, hitting the door.

"I taught him." Said Scor guiltily.

"Why don't you blow the lock off?" she asked desperately.

"Sure," said Al. "if you want shards of wood stuck in your body."

"Ooo-hoo!" cackled Peeves. "Three students out of bed, I should tell Filch, he's only down in the dungeons."

"Peeves!" said Rose, readying to try to reason with him.

"You should." Said Scorpius. The other two stopped and look at him in disbelief, wondering where he was going with this. Peeves stopped laughing and looked at him confusedly too.

"You should tell Filch," he continued. "that would be the right thing to do. And it would make Filch so happy." Peeves winced a moment, apparently imagining himself doing the right thing was painful. "Oh look who it is." Said Scorpius glancing down at Nelson, one of Filch's cats. The ugly think stared at them beadily, then whisked off in the opposite direction. "There he goes to tell Filch. What'd you recon? Two minutes till he arrives? I guess we deserve it. We were only trying to make the teacher's job harder, it being so close to the end of term. Oh well, Filch'll be pleased, and he thought all the fun was over."

Peeves was having a mad battle in his own head. Rose was staring through the crack to see him shake his head, blink a couple times, glance at the cupboard, then at the direction Nelson the cat went. Without warning, an icy, uncomfortable, slightly different than a ghost sensation swept through her and an icy something gripped her wrist and she felt a _whoosh_ similar to the feeling of running through the brick wall at King's Cross. She looked opened her eyes and found that she was no longer in the cupboard. And Al and Scor's mouths were open.

"I'm gonna tell Filch where you are, and when you're not there, he'll be furious!" Peeves cackled and flew through a stone wall behind them.

"What?" she gasped. "Just happened?"

"He pulled you through the solid wood!" said Al.

"I didn't know he could do that!" said Scor.

The initial shock of what had just happened was wearing off and she remembered why she was in a dark corridor at three in the morning. Rose sprinted off toward Dalbert's office, Scor and Al now running behind her.

Scorpius having the longest legs so being the quickest, was in the lead and was the one to fling open the D.A.D.A classroom door. Scor tripped over a desk due to a low light and Rose pushed open the office door which was already ajar. Out of breath, she looked up the see Max turn around quickly, a handful of floo powder in his hand.

Almost in slow motion, she ran toward him as he backed into the fireplace. " _My second house!_ " he yelled. Green flame slowly spiraled up his legs. Scorpius grabbed Al by the arm to keep him back, but Rose jumped toward him thinking that she may still have time to pull him out. Rather than getting him out, he green flame spiraled up her arms as her hands closed around his sleeves. With a yank that was quite painful, she felt herself being sucked down what felt like a drain by her elbows.

"ROSE, NO!" she heard Al shout, before all sound was blocked out by a deafening wind spinning around both her and Max.

She was traveling by floo with Max. They were both spinning in circles, both with their eyes open. She was trying to keep her elbows in, trying not to freak out. Being still during floo travel was essential, but it was made difficult with Max pushing her away. It seemed that he was trying to push her through one of the other connected fireplaces that were whirling by.

"Max, stop!" she would yell. "Stop!"

She was still holding onto his shirt to keep herself from being thrown against the walls. Max pushed her once more as a very large opening passed, but this time, a loud, horrible crack split through the wind and both she and Max froze. She wondered for a bizarre moment, what that crack was. Then a terrible pain began to rise up through her leg. So bad in fact, that she let so of Max's shirt. He grabbed her and pulled her back close. She began to feel sick, not just because of the pain, but because the whirling was getting to be too much.

All of the sudden, it stopped, and their feet his solid ground. Rose collapsed due to the sudden and painful impact, and she screamed. Her eyes were watering and everything became blurry.

"Oh, oh-" Max made a choking noise as he felt around her leg in horror. She screamed at the pain he was inflicting just by touching it, but she couldn't bring herself to look.

Her eyes were swimming and she looked up to see straight up the chimney, then down to find that they were laying in a mound of ash and dirt, broken, burnt logs and crinkled pieces of paper. She wished for a moment that Al were here, he would know just what to do about her leg. She looked forward for the first time, not at her leg, but at Max who was spinning about the room and fussing with the mantel piece, looking for something.

"Max…. What?" she muttered.

"I have to find the floo!" he choked. "We have to get you back before she appears. Somewhere, somewhere."

A terrible smell of dust and decay entered her nostrils and she was trying to make out where they were through the cloud of ash that had arisen since they landed in it. Dull moonlight was making its way across the cracked and moldy floor boards through an ivy covered, shattered window.

"Max," she croaked. "Max the window, we can make it out through the window."

"The window is second story." He said hurriedly.

"The door?"

"Is downstairs."

"How do you know?"

"This was my house when I was six." He said backing into the room and looking around worriedly and toward the top of a staircase. "We have to get you out of here, Rosie!" he said in a frantic whisper. "Can you stand up?"

Rose shifted her leg and toppled over sweaty; she shook her head.

Max hurried over and flung one of her arms around his neck, and tried to support her down the pitch black hallway. She could have screamed again in pain, but regaining her thoughts, realized that Belladonna Drury was somewhere in this house. That thought made her weak and sick.

The floor creaked below them and Rose wondered if it was going to give way. Broken glass littered the floor and the smell of dead animals lingered. Max pulled out his wand and illuminated the tip, casting a three-foot span of blue light across the floor and blackened walls. She could hear Max's heavy breathing and watched him shift his eyes back and forth.

"Where are we?" she asked as he stopped mid corridor and turned as if trying to remember.

"Scotland." He replied. "This is where I lived when Will was taken. It burnt down after we left."

He turned his wand toward a white wood, closed door and shifted a moment, Rose heard him gulp before pushing the door open. The door creaked and he scooted Rose higher because she had been slipping. Rose looked around the room. It looked to have once been a bedroom for a young boy. A moldy blue rug was on the wood floor, a window cast moonlight through the dusty air. A couple pathetic looking, cheap toys were laying across the ground and a few torn posters were hanging from the wall around one metal bed as plastic stars were cast about the second bed. The first bed looked almost exactly like the second, from its red rusted frame to its thin pathetic mattress, except the first bed's sheets were not moldy and now home for rats, but new covers lined the mattress and something rather large was stirring under them.

Max dared to draw closer, but not to enter the room. "William?" he whispered.

The lump under the sheets stirred more and sat up, Rose could only see the silhouette of a boy around their age, but could not make out his face.

"Will!" Max breathed, half relieved, half horrified. "We need to go!"

"You're not supposed to be here!" she heard Will say in a familiar voice. "Go! Go now! She'll be here any minute!"

Max half entered the room, but backed away hurriedly as the door shut in his face with a slam Rose thought was heavy enough to blow the house down. And a thump was heard from the other side. Rose saw the bottom of a long black dress sweep by and looking up, saw the face of Belladonna Drury standing above them.

"Well…" she said in a voice that was soft and icy tone. "It's been a while hasn't it… Son?"


	23. Belladonna Drury

**R** ose was staring into the shadowed face. Instinctively, she reached for her wand, forgetting that it wasn't there.

 _Son?_ She thought. _Max couldn't possibly be…_

Max almost dropped Rose when pointing his wand at Belladonna.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " Belladonna called in a voice that made the hairs on Rose's arms stand up.

She heard a yell of pain as the spell hit – not Max's wand – but his hand. A terrible, almost 'pop' sounded as Max doubled over holding his dislocated wrist. Rose reached for the wand that had fallen to the floor, but had landed sideways on her bad leg and couldn't reach without cracking it further. Max lunged for the wand but with a lazy wave of Belladonna's wand, Max _flew_ backward across the floor with a blast of red light, sliding through shards of glass and wood. Rose watched horrified as her best friends slammed against the side of the fireplace and cough as he hurriedly pulled the shards of broken glass from his arms and legs.

Rose struggled up, trying her best to get to Max, but she was knocked off her feet and felt herself being slowly drug across the floor by an invisible force. Belladonna was gliding over, from his angle, looking like a skeleton. Her wand was pointing at Rose on the floor as she walked and dropped her in the middle of the room they had first emerged into.

"Accio wand!" Belladonna cried for Max's wand which lay abandoned in the hallway. The wand flew toward her, but rather then catching it, she directed in into the fireplace and Rose had a terrible feeling that she was planning to burn it later.

"You remember what I said I would do if you brought anyone else with you?" Belladonna said to Max as she pointed her wand at a crippled and crying Rose who was trying to pull glass from her back.

"NO!" Max screamed. "Please, No! I didn't bring her! I swear I didn't bring her!" he, for the first time Rose had ever seen, was crying.

"I must hold true to my word." She responded, raising her wand back at Rose in the corner, she had a mad, evil set look as though, there _was_ no hesitation there and as if this task of killing wasn't new to her.

"STOP!" he called again. "Please…" he croaked. "Don't."

"You like this girl?" Belladonna asked, crouching down to his level and gripping his face her in her cold bony grip.

"She's my best friend." He whispered.

"You didn't bring her with you?"

"No…"

Belladonna slowly smiled, a harsh painful smile as she pinched his cheek. "I suppose you're not lying to me." She said. "I almost forgot."

Max pulled away from her angrily.

"I'll put her there for now." Belladonna flicked her wand lazily and Rose was flung across the room and tightly bound my ropes.

Her leg was hurting worse than ever and was now twisted in an unnatural way. Rose looked around to see where she was. They were in what looked to be a living area. There was an upturned sofa, as there always seemed to be in places like this. Holes in the floor and the ceiling. A crystal chandelier lay on the floor cracked and covered in cobwebs. The windows were cracked, vines grew from outside and into the house. Spider webs littered every corner, including the one Rose was now sitting in, and a familiar smell of mold lingered around the house. Belladonna herself looked different form the picture in the paper. Her hair had grown longer and looked tangled. She had strong features and a slender nose. Her eyes were bright blue, something that Rose hadn't been able to tell through the black and white photograph. She looked like a young woman who had smoked all her life and was now paying the consequence. She was thin and sickly looking. But through the shiny, leathery like skin, and the dark, evil eyes, Rose did see distinct features that Max had.

"I want to see Will." Said Max through clinched teeth. Belladonna tapped the end of her wand to her chin, thinking. "Not yet." She said. "Don't you want to have a small reunion with your mommy?"

"Mother?" Rose grunted, trying to sit up.

"Shut up girl!" Belladonna barked. "I haven't changed my mind about killing you."

"No!" said Max, his hair and eyes now both blood red. "I don't want to have a _reunion_. You're a terrible person and I don't want to have anything to do with you."

"Well there's not much you can do about that." Said Belladonna with a scrunched, sour expression. "And it would be a real shame to have you running off with the wrong idea about me. I like to think of myself as a desperate woman who took extreme measures."

"You tortured me and Will from age four!" Max shouted, still holding his wrist.

"Extreme measures." She waved lazily.

"There is one thing I would like to know…" said Max. "What do you want with us?"

"Ooh, now that is an interesting story." She said conjuring herself up a wooden chair to sit. "Well, you see, you have something that I need to survive, always have, that's why I conceived you in the first place. You're a… how should I put it…? A storage baby."

"A what?"

"You see, I borrowed something from the Ministry, well, stole something," she laughed. "I had no intention of giving it back! Anyway, they suspected me, so I conceived you so that, through a very complicated bit of magic, could store what I had stolen inside you. As I had expected, the Ministry came looking, and seeing as I didn't have it on me, left me alone."

Rose was listening with rapt attention, trying to work out what kind of magic she used.

"That doesn't answer my question." Said Max.

"That's because I wasn't done." Belladonna snapped. "You were always stubborn and irksome, Sylas."

"Sylas?" Rose repeated in disbelief, "Max? You can't possible have _another_ name." she was surprised to find that she had the ability to say.

"Shut up, girl!" Belladonna snapped again.

"I did notice that you don't do by Sylas anymore." She continued. "That did cause me a great deal of trouble."

"What did you steal?" Max asked.

She smiled. "Something good." She said. "I used to work at the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries. They sacked me because I was leaking secrets. They erased my memory as they always do to unspeakables, but memory charms are only so strong." She was talking rather quickly like an auctioneer, and she spoke in a way that told them, she had been waiting to say all this.

"A year passed, I got glimpses of the memories they had taken from me when I saw something that was related to them. Until one night, I was in a pub, and heard a group of foolish unspeakables chatting about their work. With a little, er, persuasion, they told me everything. It wasn't easy, but with my memory back, I managed to retrieve what I had been working on a year before."

"And…?" said Max impatiently. "What was it?"

"Tell me, have you ever hurt yourself and found that you were healed within the next few hours? Have you ever broken a bone and found that it was fixed the next day?"

Max didn't respond, he was scowling at her, but his eyes were jiggling in his head as he thought. Rose was thinking, it wasn't easy, the pain was rising up in her throat, making it difficult to breathe.

"I stole a potion." She whispered. "A healing draft. It wasn't released to the public because it wasn't finished, I couldn't wait though, I was dying and needed it quickly. So I stole it, drank it, healed, transferred it onto you, blah, blah, blah…"

"But why did you need Will? Why do you want me now? You're healed right?" Max asked.

Belladonna sighed. "I didn't know I would have twins. After I gave birth, I left you two with your father and ran so I would not be connected to the potion when the Ministry came knocking. I waited until I was off the radar of suspects before coming back."

"And the torture?" asked Max furiously.

"It wasn't torture, they were tests. I needed to find which of you had received it. I had taken ill again. All of that were just _tests._ "

"Wouldn't it have just made more sense to cut us both and see who heals faster?" said Max.

"Oh I did." She said. "Stupid boy, don't you remember not having been able to heal before I came along? It has to be triggered, turned on. I couldn't find the curse to do it, so I was attempting to extract it through other means."

"And Will? You know he doesn't have it, you triggered it in me obviously, yet still took him, why?" said Max.

Rose was staring at Max confusedly. Belladonna began to pace back and forth, her dress skirting the dusty floor. Max was looking at Rose, then gestured to Belladonna, and would then nod. Rose would shake her head, and he would do it again. Finally, she noticed that he wasn't gesturing to Belladonna, but to her wand whose handle was sticking out of her pocket. The slowly rising sun illuminated it perfectly, as if the heavens were calling out, _Take it! Take it!_

"I finally found what triggered the potion, and the next day, your father kicked me out." She was saying. Rose slowly, going pale, and biting her tongue to keep her from shrieking with pain, was dragging herself across the floor toward Belladonna who didn't seem to be able to speak and move at the same time. "He threatened to tell the Ministry that I had stolen it, so I had no other choice but to run."

"He knew!" Max exclaimed, tearing his eyes from Rose's progress.

"Of course he knew stupid boy. Why do you think he let me get on with my tests?"

"He was okay with them?" Max squeaked.

"No, he was not okay with them, he was just too cowardly to try'n stop me."

"Why did you need Will?" Max shouted again.

"To use him!" she shouted back. "I never wanted him, all this time, I wanted you! Will was sent home early from school, another fight, and I took him, to use him exactly how I'm using him now, for ransom. I had planned on using him on your dad, he had always liked William more anyway, but when I came looking, you two had already left. I looked for you, I searched and searched but couldn't find you. I spent two years in Norway searching, terrible country, extremely cold. My last hope, was Hogwarts. I had first checked Beauxbatons and Durmstang, those being the schools that we were going to send you. Then, we checked Hogwarts…"

Rose had been right behind her as she spoke, Max nodded and Rose made a grab for the wand. For a wild moment, she wished that she had been a seeker, having been experienced in quick grabs of small objects. She pulled the wand from Belladonna's pocket, but before she could so much as utter a spell, Belladonna grabbed Rose by the wrist, her sharp fingernails cutting into it.

"You Rat!" Belladonna screeched. She lifted her foot, and stomped on Rose's broken leg. Rose screamed in pain as a blur came sprinting from behind her attacker, and grabbed Belladonna by the hair to pull her back. She screamed in anger and whipped around having first jerked the wand from Rose's hands.

" _Drowvik!_ " she yelled at Max, and with a flash of yellow light, he was lifted into the air, fighting furiously as his hair rose eerily and he gagged for air. Through tears Rose recognized this as the curse Max had used on Poppy. _This isn't happening!_ She thought. _This isn't real!_

"How dare you try to pull one over on me!" she screamed, still holding Max in midair.

Another blur came running from a side door and knocked the wand from her hand.

"That's too long!" said the voice.

Before Rose could see who it was, Belladonna had slapped him across the face. "Don't you tell me what to do!" she called angrily.

The boy sat up again with a red mark slowly brightening on his cheek. Rose recognized him as… Max? No, it wasn't Max, Max was crouched on the floor coughing. This boy had brown hair and bright blue eyes, strong features and, other than not having vibrant hair, purple eyes, and freckles, looked just like Max.

"You can't kill him." He said. "He'll mean nothing to you if he's dead." He said in a voice that was similar to Max's too, only a bit harsher.

"Will?" said Rose, realizing who it was.

Will looked at her confusedly, wondering why she was there, then at her leg, then with pity.

"William!" Belladonna barked. "Bind the girl to wall!" she conjured up a thick pile of rope and Will retrieved it and started at Rose.

"Hold this." He said dropping the rope on her lab and dragging her backward by the arms. Rose fought to pull away. "Will you stop that?" he grunted. "Do you want her to kill you or not?" he began binding her to a pipe that was exposed through a hole in the wall. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "He wasn't supposed to come."

"She would have killed you." Rose whispered in pain.

"It would have been an improvement, believe me."

"What's she gonna do to him?" Rose asked.

"First, she's going to wait until he stops coughing, then, she's probably going to tell him how she found him, then she'll extract the potion she needs to survive."

"How will she extract it?"

"Well… he won't be pretty."

"Can't you do something about it?"

"I have no wand, no magic, I can do nothing."

"You're a coward just like your father." She gritted angrily.

"He's not my father." He whispered to a point that was hardly audible.

"What?"

Belladonna sat back in her chair and leaned against her knees, waiting impatiently for Max to finish gagging.

"Are you done? Because I'm on a time limit." She said. Will had stood up and stood beside her chair uncomfortably. Max looked up scowling.

"What do you go by now? Max, was it? Yes, I couldn't find you on the school list. I tried many different names, but none were successful, so I sent in a spy."

She looked over at Will nastily, and he bowed his head looking ashamed. "Yes, for the first time, I felt glad to have had twins. Lucky that you two looked just alike, I sent Will here on the Hogwarts express after the Holidays. Just think, you attended Hogwarts with your long lost brother for a whole week and didn't even know it."

Max continued to scowl with a look of pure hatred in his eyes, a look that terrified Rose.

"I sent him to steal school records. He slept behind a mirror in an empty classroom and ate food from the kitchens. Breaking a few rules already are you, the elves weren't even surprised to see him in there. All he had to do was find where the files were stored, nick them, and travel to Hogsmeade, where I'd be waiting to apparate."

Rose blinked a few times, everything now making sense. She hadn't been talking to Max on the way to the hospital wing during potions, she had been talking to Will! Max was in potions the whole time and it was Will that smelled of mold from this house! It was Will's blankets that Scorpius had tripped over when running through the door away from Filtch!

"We found your picture under the name, _Vladimir D'artagnan Everard_." She continued. "Not bad for Clent, I wouldn't have thought of the name Vladimir, your dad hated mine; Bones Vladimir Drury. I have no idea where Max came from though I hardly think it matters. I decided to ransom you because I thought you would have been more naïve than Clent, especially considering you're a-" she leant down to grab his red and gold tie.

"Gryffindor." She snorted in disgust. "and I was right. I think… yes, I think that's it for now. I will now do something that I have been waiting to do for a very long time."

She stood up to point her wand at Max as Will turned away, she shouted, "Extramorphenbleek!" Something that Rose had never seen before, shot from the end of her wand. White cords of light spun out and around Max creating what looked like a shield? No, a cocoon. It looked at first, to be spectacular, then the cords twitched and they turned black. Like snakes they twisted around and shot into his body. Max screamed a scream of agony and Rose burst into tears, trying her best to fight against the ropes.

Will winced and started toward him. Belladonna, one hand pointing her wand at Max, the other flung out toward Will and he was knocked backward to slide across the floor.

"Extraction it painful." She said. "You knew this."

 _Please!_ Rose begged. _Please send someone to help us, please, please, please!_

Tied to a wall with a broken leg, Will on the floor, Belladonna extracting the potion from Max as he screamed in agony which rang in her ears.

The next moment, a rush of green flames whirled into life and when they subsided, Professor Dalbert was standing there with fire in his eyes, wand raised.


	24. Conclusion

**W** ithout being able to comprehend what just happened, Dalbert waved his wand and cried, " _Expelliarmus!_ " Belladonna turned her wand from Max, who collapsed to the floor quivering, to the intruder to block his spell, causing it to hit the ceiling instead. The black cords vanished from around Max with a sound like water being poured onto a hot frying pan.

" _Incendio! Immobulus! Expelliarmus!_ " Dalbert would call.

Belladonna was spitting out curses Rose had never heard before, and colors were escaping her wand that she had never seen before. The house began to crumble around them at spells rebounded and shot of walls. Rose was pulling at the knot behind her, trying desperately to get it untied. Will was trapped behind Belladonna, being unable to make it to his brother as it was obvious, he wanted to do. Rose drug herself painfully across the disgusting floor, half bound, to Max who was shaking in a corner. She used the fire poker in the corner to hack at the bindings, finally ripping them off of herself. She groaned as she attempted to sit up and she shook Max hard by the shoulders.

"Please be alive, please be alive!" she pleaded. Rose checked his pulse and was relived to find that it was still pumping.

"Max!" she yelled, shaking him more vigorously. "Max, get up! We have to leave! Max! er, Sylas! Whoever the heck you are! Come on!"

"Sylas!" Rose turned to see Will yelling from the floor, having to duck under the wand fire. "Sylas! Get up! Iversen!"

Max blinked. He twitched, and weakly opened his eyes. His whole body was quivering and he was gasping for words.

The battle before them continued. Dalbert thundered the very first curse he had used, not aiming for her, but for the ceiling above. The curse blasted a hole through the floor of the upper story, and a mountain of rubble collapsed on top of her, burying her in ash, and wood. Will made a mad dash toward Max, jumping over the heap that was his mom. In slow motion it seemed, Will lurched himself forward, arm outstretched. Max reached forward also, their fingers were inches apart when a dust covered hand burst from the rubble, catching Will's ankle, and as the boys reached for each other, Will vanished from sight and the heap from the floor caved in; Belladonna had apperated with Will.

Max was frozen there, his arm outstretched toward nothing. A ringing silence followed, but was broken by a loud CRACK! The entire ceiling above them was caving in. Professor Dalbert took Max around the arm, and Rose around the waste, and backing into the fireplace, apperated.

Rose collapsed onto the floor and she heard Max do the same right behind her. She opened her eyes to find that he was bent over a familiar floor. Cold Hogwarts stone lay beneath her hands and knees. She looked up and was surprised to see that she was on the floor of professor Dalbert's office.

"Rosie!" said Al rushing forward and ducking under Kemp's hand which had reached out to stop him. He slid on his knees toward her and Max. Rose noticed that he had a tear streaked face and wide eyes. Scorpius had started forward, but had turned away gagging, probably at her mangled leg or at both her and Max's blood covered robes.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Professor Dalbert was saying. "What on earth were you thinking! You could have been killed! Why didn't you tell a teacher?"

"Professor, perhaps it would be best to discuss this later, at least after the children have been looked over and mended by Pomfrey." Said Professor Kemp.

Rose hardly remembered being brought to the hospital wing. Dalbert, who seemed furious, had carried Rose, not wanting to wait for a stretcher to be conjured up. Al and Scorpius insisted on supporting Max who was fit enough to walk, but not climb stairs. The Matron had bustled in, and after a quick explanation about their condition, ("Her leg is broken, and his wrist is dislocated and they're both shredded with glass.") she began tending to them, looking angry as well.

"We were doing so good!" she would mutter. "Half the amount of injuries this year, and then this happens.

Matron looked over Rose. "It's not just broken dear." She said prodding her leg uncomfortably. "It's shattered, worse than that, pieces have seemed to have stabbed into your flesh." Rose thought about how Belladonna had stomped on it.

"Will it hurt?" she asked timidly.

"No more than breaking it in the first place would." Pomfrey sighed.

"But I do have to first magnetize the bone fragments to the center again, then we can start mending."

"What about Max?"

"I don't know what to give him…" she said mournfully looked over at his bed where he lay silent and still, but wide awake. "I treated his wrist well enough but he was hit by a powerful dark curse. With his condition though, he'll be better within the day."

"But that's what Belladonna was trying to do!" said Rose. "To take away his healing powers!"

"Did she succeed?"

"I don't know… she didn't finish."

Dozens of stabbing pains were working their way through her leg. Max had his hands folded on his stomach and was staring up at the ceiling. The sun was now completely up and a murmur of voices were heard passing the closed hospital doors.

"Now explain exactly what happened." Said Dalbert sternly.

Rose looked over at Max to see if he would take up the challenge. Finding that he wasn't, she started, wondering how much she should tell.

She told them about the ransom letter, that Will would die if Max didn't come, about them getting there, meeting Belladonna Drury. What she had stolen, what she wanted, why she had kidnapped and the curse she had used on Max. She told Professor Kemp about Dalbert arriving and dueling Belladonna, and how she had disapperated with Will before they could grab him.

Professor Kemp was striding across the room and Dalbert was scowling with his arms propped over his knees.

"You do know that she would have killed both of you?" he asked.

"Without hesitation. You two would have been dead."

"But we're not…" said Rose. "I appreciate you coming to get us, but you're making me feel as though I was supposed to die." She said this with more sass than she had meant and both Al and Scorpius raised their eyebrows.

"Look," Dalbert sighed. "You scared me, really bad. When I get scared, I tend to become angry. You should have warned a teacher. I would hate for anything to happen to any of my students, especially the two brightest."

Max turned his head for the first time at this.

Scorpius made a small noise of indignation. "Shut up Scor, you know we're lousy." Whispered Al.

Rose remembered Professor Kemp giving a, she thought it was probably a lecture, but she was too busy thinking about how hungry she was to pay much attention.

"What do you think?" asked Dalbert. "Should we take away house points?"

"Take away?" Madam Pomfrey asked indigently, sitting up from having just given Max a spoonful of pink liquid. "We're lucky these kids are alive! We're not about to punish them for surviving!"

"We're not punishing them for surviving." Said Kemp. "We'd be punishing them for leaving the school, being out of bed in the middle of the night, breaking and entering, and unauthorized floo travel."

"Think about what Harry Potter had done!" she exclaimed. "He himself snuck out multiple times, broke multiple rules and saved us from a thieved stone, a monster, escaped prisoner, hag of a woman, and you-know-who-himself!"

"But those were all services for the school." Said Professor Kemp, rubbing between his eyebrows. "This was for personal matters."

"To save a human's life and catch a convict!" she snapped. "Those were acts as selfless as any. Now these kids need rest!" she dared to shoo the headmaster himself from the room, followed by Dalbert.

After the door was shut, she turned back toward them with a stern expression.

"Now don't you try pulling a stunt like that again." She said severely. "That was a foolish thing to do!" and she left the room into her office leaving Rose and Max in their beds, Al and Scorpius beside them.

Rose turned sharply, surprised to see something white fly across the room and hit the wall opposite. Max had thrown his pillow.

"I was that close!" he growled. "I almost had him!"

"If you had grabbed him, you would have vanished with Belladonna." Rose tried to reason.

"I didn't even get to talk to him."

"The Ministry is probably on their tale right now. Since this happened, and because they now know that she had stolen the potion, I bet you anything that she's back on their radar!" said Al.

This seemed to cheer him up a bit.

"Sorry about breaking your leg, by the way." He said timidly.

"It's getting better now." She said, pulling back the sheet and staring at the swollen purple leg.

Scor made a choking noise beside her and she hit him on the arm.

"What was going on back here?" she asked curiously.

"A lot." Said Al. "We watched you two vanish and couldn't follow. So we ran out to find Professor Kemp. Here's your wand by the way, it was on the floor in the office, I expect Professor Dalbert was standing on it when he disapperated." Al handed Max his oak wand and continued. "We tried and tried, but couldn't figure out the password, so we went looking for Professor Dalbert."

"But we didn't know where he slept." Scorpius interrupted. "Finally, we found it, and he scared us half to death as he pulled his wand out on us. I think we just frightened him. Anyway, we quickly told him what had happened, and he told us the password to Professor Kemp's office and to go tell him what was going on. So we did."

"Keep in mind that it takes ten to fifteen minutes to get from one place to the other around here." Said Al.

"We gave the gargoyles the password, went up a ridiculous staircase,"

"I thought it was rather cool.

"And had to wake the headmaster from his sleep, which was scary too, but he took it a lot better. As we were trying to explain what was going on, Dalbert burst through the door to grab Professor Kemp's floo powder, mumbling something about not being able to find his. Then we all made our way into Professor Dalbert's office and waited until you three showed up on the floor covered in ash."

"Wow…" said Rose. "Your adventure sounds more exciting than ours."

"Hardly." Said Al. "It mainly just involved a lot of running, I think I've lost five pounds."

"Max? What took you so long?" asked Rose. "By the time we got to the office, you should have been long gone."

"I spent most of the time looking for the floo powder." Said Max. "and the other half hiding it."

"Scor, Al?" she said. "Will you please get us food?"

"What do we look like? House elves?" said Al crossing his arms.

"At this point, I don't care if you're a dragon or a troll, we need food."

"Women." Said Scor patting Al on the shoulder and standing up. "They're all, _get it now or get it now!_ "

"I said please."

"We're going." Said Scor with his hands raised and he and Al left the room.

"So what's your real name?" she asked quickly.

Max half smiled for the first time.

"That's why you wanted them gone?"

"No, I really want food."

"…My birth name is Sylas Clark Iversen." He said slowly. "When dad and I ran away, he had it legally changed to Vladimir D'artagnan Everard. So they're both my real name."

"So do you want me to start calling you Sylas?" she asked.

"Call me Max." he said. "Anything else?"

Rose thought for a moment.

"Yes." She said. "Why can't you lie?"

Max smiled. "It's been bothering you, yes?"

"All year!" she groaned.

"When I was… six I think, she injected me with a serum, a truth telling serum."

"Veritaserum?"

"No. Veritaserum causes one to _have_ to tell the truth out of compulsion, I can lie, it just hurts really badly."

"I saw you lie to Calvert the other night."

"Of course you did."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because I was a compulsive liar and she thought that she'd make me better. The serum, it did contain veritaserum, but that was just an ingredient. My habit of lying was quickly broken because the potion stabs at my brain when I lie, making it feel as though my head was going to split open."

"Why didn't you just tell me that before?"

"Because you could use it against me. Knowing that I can't lie? Could you imagine? People would be coming to me all the time. _Do you like me? Do you think I'm a good person? Did I get this answer right? Should I break up with him? Does this skirt make me look fat?_ It would be terrible."

"Max," she said more seriously. "I was just thinking… If Will really was at Hogwarts for a week, then why hadn't he revealed himself to a teacher or authority? He could have easily escaped, why hadn't he done it? Do you think he _wants_ to stay with her?"

Max didn't respond.

"That thought crossed your mind too, huh?" she asked.

"I doubt he wants to stay, you saw her hit him. But I was wondering, unless she used the imperious curse on him." Said Max.

"We're not going to have closer are we?" she asked sadly. "The year is supposed to end with closure. But Will's still gone, Belladonna's still on the run and you're still invincible."

"I'm not invincible. But yes, no closure…"

"Through all of that," she said. "we didn't accomplish anything did we? This whole year has been leading up to this, but we didn't close the mystery, or catch the bad guy, we didn't win a metal for acts of services to the school and we emerge with broken bones and shards of glass. Doesn't this all seem pointless?"

"Will is alive…" Max said slowly. "That's enough to know right now. It'll rise up again, I'm sure. But that was a burning question, I thought he was dead. Now knowing he's not, that he'll live to see tomorrow, I feel as though I have completed something, I get a sliver of closure."

"Max?" she said, thinking up a question that she hadn't thought of until just then. "Why didn't you stun me with your wand? You were perfectly capable to, and it would have made your job so much easier."

Max thought for a moment. "Why didn't _you_ punch me when I was trying to shove you into that cupboard?" he decided to ask.

"I…" she thought. "Well I couldn't bring myself to. Locking me in the cupboard was rude of you though."

"Really? I thought I was so nice…" he smirked.

Rose threw a stare at him. "You heard all that?" she asked going red.

"Every word…"

"Hey!" said Al as the doors burst open again. "I have food!"

They all ate brunch in the hospital wing that morning.

"I have a surprise!" said Scorpius. "Our report cards are in!"

"Really?" said Rose taking hers. "That was fast."

"One-two-three-" they all opened them together.

Before any of them could say a word about their grade, Scorpius jumped up on the hospital bed waving his card in the air. "I got by in potions!" he called.

"What?" said Al in disbelief, taking the card from him. "…Well they don't except much."

Scorpius punched him in the arm. "Ow! Hey! I'm kidding! Good job bud!"

Rose was staring down at her card, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"What's wrong?" said Al taking the card from Rose.

"I… I got two points less than mom did." She said mournfully.

"Rosie?" said Al slowly. "It you don't cheer up about your perfect score, I'm gonna dump this pitcher of pumpkin juice on your head."

"No don't!" she shouted as Al raised it up. "No! I'm wounded!"

Rose wasn't able to walk until the following day. They emerged from the hospital wing to find some people in really high spirits, some, in low. Professor Kemp had to write to both her and Max's families to tell them what had happened. Max never received a reply, and Rose had gotten six owls, all from different family members. Rose had dropped them into the orange juice and claimed that she couldn't read the now smudged ink.

"Rose!" called James, hurrying toward her after breakfast. "Mom and dad just wrote to me and told me to never let you do anything like that again or I'd be in just as much trouble. What the heck did you do?"

"I used the guy's bathroom because I couldn't make it to the girl's in time." She lied without looking up.

"Eww!" said James. "I see why our folks are upset, I got _three_ letters like that."

It was more bitter than sweet as Rose packed her trunk with all of her spell books, extra clothes, cauldron, vials, telescope and broom. The feast was that night and they were to leave the next morning. That day, the four friends took one final tour of the grounds. They walked along the lake, shook tentacles with the giant squid, skipped stones, visited the garden one last time, said goodbye to Yoman. They had tea with Hagrid who was more furious than anybody that they had pulled a stunt like they did.

In response to why he wasn't overly depressed about his brother still being missing, a question asked by Scorpius who wasn't good with words, Max told them that he was quite confident that the Ministry would catch her soon, that he was now aware of the situation and knew that Will wasn't chained to a wall or anything.

The sun was setting and the four of them sprinted into the hall to find it decorated just like the welcoming banquet, except that the room was clothed in green and silver, serpent banners. Al and Scor sat apart, as was encouraged to sit with your house. The feast itself was spectacular. She and Max ate happily while the rest of the Gryffindors seemed sour about Slytherin's win. But the two of them were perfectly alright with Slytherin winning, sure, they hated to see Poppy and Fraunk, Stewart and Relctory celebrating as if they had done _anything_ to help earn the cup. But they both knew that Al and Scorpius, Keith, Olivia and a handful of other members had worked hard to answer questions and win matches.

Professor Kemp announced that, obviously, Slytherin was in first place, followed by Hufflepuff, then Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw. Molly didn't seem very happy about this, but Hufflepuff cheered louder than ever. Full and exhausted, they made their way up to bed.

Rose stretched out on her warm sheets, knowing that she was going to miss them. She wasn't as bothered with Danielle's snoring, and for the first time, she cuddled Cromwell back.

She closed her eyes to sleep, and when she opened them again, she was in the little row boats heading back across the lake. She blinked again and she was now on the train, heading home.

"But I don't want to go." She said.

"You'll be back in two months." Reasoned Scorpius.

"Yes, but when I go back, I'll be lectured about what I did."

"Just think of a song you like, and play it again and again in your head until the talking it over." Suggested Max. "That's what I do."

"But you hum when I'm talking…" she said slowly.

Al and Scorpius laughed, and Max didn't respond.

"So what's going to happen to you?" asked Al. "Still coming back next semester? Even though Belladonna knows where you are?"

Max shrugged. "I might change my name again. What do you guys think about Malcom?"

"I don't mind it." Said Rose. "I'll just call you Max, for short."

They bought armfuls of candy and sweets, and wore their poor wands out doing as much magic as they could, trying to make up for not being able to use them over summer. The fields and mountains that sped by outside the window, soon became cities and buildings, and they knew that they were entering London.

"We'll write over summer right?" Rose asked.

"Of course." Scor and Max said.

"And you'll send me birthday presents right?" said Scorpius half joking.

The train soon came to a screeching halt at King's Cross Station, and having understood the concepts of 'the weak don't survive' they all pushed and shoved to get off the train.

Nobody moved out of the way for Scorpius anymore, all knowing that he was not a threat. They all said goodbye, knowing that they'd lose each other on the platform, and started forward, looking for their families. Al spotted his parents and ran toward them excitedly. Rose found hers and saw that they looked half pleased to see her, half ready for a _long_ talk. Rose took a deep breath, and started toward them, maybe exaggerating her limp _just_ a bit.


End file.
